Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011

BOLGATANGA MUNICIPALITY

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2011

Resource Endowment,

Investment Opportunities and the Attainment of MDGs

United Nations Development Government of Ghana Programme Ghana Office Accra

Government of Ghana United Nations Development Programme Ghana Office

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011

© UNDP, Ghana 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of UNDP, Ghana

ISBN 9988 8293-9-6 Cover Design by ARTBANC Typesetting by ClayDord Consult, Accra Printed by ARTBANC

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011

Acknowledgements

Initiation, Sponsorship and Report Writing: (former Resident Coordinator of the UN This is the third set of the District Human System and Resident Representative of Development Reports but a maiden one for UNDP of Ghana Country Office), Prof. Bolgatanga Municipality initiated and funded Amoah Baah-Nuakoh (former Senior Policy by the United Nations Development Advisor); Paul Derigubaa (former Programme. Many people contributed to the Programme Specialist — Strategy and Policy realization of this report. We acknowledge Unit). The reports continued to receive the efforts of Dr. Daniel B. Sarpong who leadership and technical direction from Ruby guided the overall project and Rev Dr. Sandhu-Rojon (the Resident Coordinator of Asuming Brempong the consultant for the the UN System and Resident Representative field work and the writing of this report. of UNDP of Ghana Country Office); K. K. Kamaluddeen (Country Director, UNDP); Pa

Lamin Beyai (Economic Advisor, UNDP); Secondary and Field Research: We Shigeki Komatsubara (Deputy Country appreciate the enormous contribution Director — Programmes, UNDP); Kordzo (information and validation) from the Sedegah (Economics Specialist and the leadership of the Bolgatanga Municipal Project Officer/Coordinator — Strategy and Assembly especially officers-in-charge of the Policy Unit); Coretta Jonah (Economic following departments and services: Analyst — Strategy and Policy Unit); as well Coordinating Directorate, Planning, as Magnus Ebo Duncan (Head, Economic Agriculture, Cooperatives, Works, National and Industry Statistics Division, Ghana Disaster Management Organization Statistical Service). (NADMO), Ghana Education Service and Ghana Health Service. We also appreciate Editing, Review and Advisory: The editorial the contributions of the following personnel work comprised of structural and substantive of the Upper East Regional Administration: editing, technical and copy editing, proof- Mr. Sagito Isaka — Regional Economic reading and review, and bibliographical Planning Officer, and Mr. Thomas Azure — editing as well as further study and re- Regional Statistician. We are very grateful to analysis of selected sections and the CERSGIS for the production and analysis of numerous gaps identified in the report at the the maps. They are very insightful and useful editorial stage. These were undertaken by maps. Prof. Cletus K. Dordunoo (team leader and Chief Executive Officer, ClayDord Consult, Accra, Ghana) and the principal associates of To all the respondents we say thank you. the ClayDord Consult, namely, Dr. Kwaku Mensah Ganu, Mr. Woeli Atsu Dekutsey and Mrs. Gertrude Missodey, among others. The We thank the Technical Committee members advisory support, comments and suggestions for their inputs and validation of the report. for improvement from ClayDord Consul- The report was finalized with active tancy Services and Associates were participation and in consultation with responded to and provided by Pa Lamin members of the Strategy and Policy Unit of Beyai (Economic Advisor) and Kordzo the UNDP, particularly Daouda Toure Sedegah (Economic Specialist and the

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011

Report Coordinator — Strategy and Policy Unit) of the UNDP Ghana.

Abbreviations

AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome ANC Antenatal Care APR African Peer Review ASIP Agricultural Sector Improvement Project BDA Bole District Assembly BECE Basic Education Certificate Examination BMA Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly CBO Community Based Organizations CBRDP Community Based Rural Development Programme CERSGIS Centre for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Services CHPS Community-Based Health Planning and Services CIFS Community-Driven Initiatives on Food Security CWIQ Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire DA District Assembly DACF District Assembly Common Fund DDHS District Director of Health Services DHDR District Human Development Report EA Enumeration Area GAC Ghana AIDs Commission GDHS Ghana Demographic and Health Survey GPI Gender Parity Index GDP Gross Domestic Product GER Gross Enrolment Ratio GIS Geographic Information System GLSS Ghana Living Standards Survey GMH Ghana Macroeconomics Health GPRS Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy GPS Global Positioning System GSS Ghana Statistical Service HDI Human Development Index HIV Human Immune Virus HPI-G Human Poverty Index ISSER Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research ITN Insecticide Treated Nets JHS Junior High School KVIL Kumasi Ventilated Improved Latrine KVIP Kumasi Ventilated Improved Pit LUT Land Utilization Types MDA Ministries, Departments and Agencies MDGs Millennium Development Goals MOFA Ministry of Food and Agriculture MTDP Medium Term Development Plan

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011

NA Not Applicable NCCE National Commission for Civic Education NNDA Nanumba North District Assembly NDPC National Development Planning Commission NEPAD New Partnership for African Development NER Net Enrolment Ratio NGO Non-Governmental Organization NHIS National Health Insurance Scheme NORPREP Northern Region Poverty Reduction Programme ORS Oral Rehydration Salt PPP Purchasing Power Parity SHEP Self Help Electrification Project SHS Senior High School SSI Small-scale Industry STME Science Technology and Mathematics Education TBA Traditional Birth Attendants TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNESCAP United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund VIP Village Infrastructure Project ZTDA Zabzugu Tatale District Assembly

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011

Contents

Foreword ...... iii Preface ...... iv Acknowledgements ...... v Abbreviations ...... vi List of Tables ...... xi List of Illustrations ...... xiii Executive Summary ...... xvi

1 INTRODUCTION ...... 1 Human Development ...... 1 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ...... 3 Resource Endowments and Investment Opportunities ...... 3 The Report ...... 6 Methodology and Data ...... 6 Outline of the Report ...... 8

2 PROFILE OF THE DISTRICT ...... 10 Physical Features ...... 10 Vegetation and Climate ...... 11 Demographic Characteristics ……………...... 11 Human Settlement ………………...... 15 Governance — State and Traditional ...... 19 The Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly (BMA) ...... 20

3 ECONOMIC ACTIVITY AND POVERTY ...... 23 Introduction ...... 23 Major Economic Activities ...... 23 Unemployment and Under-employment ...... 29 Poverty ...... 30

4 EDUCATION AND LITERACY ...... 34 Introduction ...... 34 Educational Attainment ...... 35

5 HEALTH, WATER AND SANITATION ...... 41 Introduction ...... 41 Health Care Infrastructure ...... 41 Attendance at Ante-Natal and Post- Natal Clinics ...... 43

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011

Health Status of Children ...... 44 Health Insurance ...... 45 Water and Sanitation ...... 45 6 RESOURCE ENDOWMENT ………………………………………………...... 48 Introduction ...... 48 Natural/Environmental Resources ...... 48 Land Use and Land Cover ...... 51 Physical Resources ...... 53 Socio-economic Resources ...... 53 Human Resources ...... 59

7 UTILIZATION AND CONSTRAINTS IN RESOURCE ENDOWMENT ...... 60 Introduction ...... 60 Utilization of the Resource Endowments in the Municipality ...... 61 Institutions and Governance Utilization in the Municipality ...... 65 Constraints in Resource Endowment Utilization ...... 70 Conclusion: Utilization of Infrastructure Resource to Meet MDGs ...... 77

8 INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES, CONSTRAINTS AND CHALLENGES IN THE BOLGATANGA MUNICIPALITY ...... 78 Introduction ...... 78 Investment Opportunities in the Municipality ...... 79 Role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) ...... 82 Constraints and Challenges to Investment Opportunities in the Municipality ...... 83 Safety and Security Issues in the Municipality ...... 84

9 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND THE WAY FORWARD ...... 86 Summary and Conclusion ...... 86 The Way Forward: Utilization of Natural Resources to Meet MDGs in the Municipality ...... 88

REFERENCES ...... 92

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011

List of Tables

1.1 Official list of MDG indicators (Effective 15 January 2008) …...... 4 1.2 Enumeration Areas (EAs) and Localities Covered by the Household Survey ...... 9 2.1 Population Size of Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 11 2.2 Ethnic Composition of the Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 14 2.3 Religious Affiliation of the Inhabitants of Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 14 2.4 Population of Migrants by Sex ...... 14 2.5 Distribution of People Who Moved into the Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 15 2.6 Reasons Why People Move into the Municipality ...... 15 2.7 Household Characteristics of the Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 17 2.8 Trunk Roads in the Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 18 2.9 Engineered Roads in the Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 18 2.10 Non-engineered Roads in the Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 19 2.11 Access to Public Services in Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 19 2.12 Reasons for not Voting in the Municipal and National Elections ...... 21 3.1 A Summary of the Key Economic Activities in the Bolgatanga Municipality between 2003 and 2008 ...... 26 3.2 Problems Faced by Working Population with Regards to Work, 2008 ...... 30 3.3 Poverty Indicators, 2003: National versus Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 31 3.4 Household Perception about Poverty of Household (%) ...... 31 3.5 Household Perception of their Economic Situation, 2003 (%) ...... 32 3.6 Reasons for Food Shortage by Household ...... 33 4.1 Educational Attainment of Population Aged 6 Years and Above (%) — 2008 ...... 36 4.2 Bolgatanga Municipality — Number of Basic Schools, 2003–2008 ...... 36 4.3 Bolgatanga Municipality — Enrolment in Basic Schools, 2003–2008 ...... 37 4.4 Bolgatanga Municipality — Number of Teachers in Basic Schools, 2003–2008 ...... 37 4.5 Number of Days Missed in School ...... 39 4.6 Reasons for Missing Classes and those that Returned (%) ...... 39 4.7 Vulnerability of Children in the Municipality ...... 39 4.8 Adults (18 Years and Over) Literacy Rates (%) ...... 40 5.1 List of Health Facilities in the Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 42 5.2 Health Care Facilities and the Populations they Serve in the Municipality ...... 42 5.3 Type of Health Facility/Provider Visited in Times of Illness (%) ...... 42 5.4 Pre-natal and Post-natal Care in the Bolgatanga Municipality — 2008 ...... 44 5.5 NHIS Registration in the Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 45 5.6 Number of Times Respondents Benefited from the Health Insurance Scheme ...... 46 5.7 Number and Type of Sources of Drinking Water (Rural Water Supply — 2000) ...... 46 5.8 Percentage of the Population Served with Safe Water in the Municipality ...... 47 6.1 Matrix of Geology Distribution in the Municipality ...... 48 6.2 Matrix of Soil Distribution in the District ...... 48 6.3 Matrix of Land Use/Land Cover Distribution in the Municipality ...... 51 6.4 Attributes of Land Utilization Types in the Municipality ...... 51

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011

6.5 Matrix of Education Facility Distribution in the Municipality ...... 58 7.1 Distribution of Economically Active Population Aged 15+ by Industry, Status and Type (%) ...... 61 7.2 Estimates of Unemployment Rates (%) for Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 62 7.3 Percentage Adult Literacy, 2003: National versus Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 62 7.4 Access to Public Transport in the Municipality ...... 63 7.5 Access to Nearest Telecommunication Facility …………………...... 64 7.6 Participation in Political Events in the Municipality ...... 66 9.1 Summary of MDGs and the Situation in the Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 89

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011

List of Illustrations

BOXES 1.1 Calculating the Human Development Index ...... 2 8.1 Active NGOs in the Bolgatanga Municipality …………………………………………... 83

FIGURES 2.1 Distribution of People who Moved into the Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 15 2.2 Expenditure Analysis of Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly (2005–2007) ...... 21 3.1 Major Types of Industry of the Economically Active Population (aged 15 years and over) ...... 24 3.2 Major Industry of Employment for Population 15 Years and Above in 2008 ...... 24 3.3 Main Occupation (%) of the Economically Active Population (aged 15 years and older) ...... 24 3.4 Main Sector of Employment for Population 15 Years and Above in 2008 ...... 25 3.5 Economically Active Population (aged 15 years and over) by Employment Status (%) ...... 25 3.6 Employment Status for Population 15 Years and Above in 2008 ...... 25 3.7 Production of Major Food Crops in the Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 27 3.8 Price of Sorghum in the Bolgatanga Municipality (2001–2008) ...... 27 3.9 Price of Rice (local) in the Bolgatanga Municipality (2001–2008) ...... 28 3.10 Price of Groundnuts in the Bolgatanga Municipality (2001–2008) ...... 28 3.11 Livestock Production in the Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 28 3.12 Rates of Under-employment and Unemployment ...... 29 3.13 People Looking for Work and those Ready for Work in the Bolgatanga Municipality ..... 29 3.14 Proportion of Working Children within the Age Category 7–14 Years ...... 30 3.15 Households that Suffer from Severe Food Shortages During the Year …...... 32 4.1 Educational Attainment of Population Aged 6 years and Older (%) — 2000 ...... 35 4.2 School Enrolment in Bolgatanga Municipality in 2008 ...... 37 4.3 School Enrolment by Sex in Bolgatanga Municipality in 2008 ...... 38 4.4 School Attendance in the Bolgatanga Municipality — 2008 ...... 38 4.5 Adult Literacy in English in Bolgatanga Municipality — 2008 ...... 40 4.6 Adult Literacy in Local Language in Bolgatanga Municipality — 2008 ...... 40 5.1 Type of Sickness/injury Reported at the Health Facilities in the Municipality ...... 43 5.2 Strategies Adopted by Households for Malaria Prevention in the Municipality (%) ...... 43 5.3 Personnel who Deliver Babies at the Health Facilities in the Municipality (%) ...... 44 5.4 Health Status of Children in the Municipality (%) ...... 44 5.5 Main Sources of Drinking Water in the Municipality (%) ...... 47 5.6 Accessibility of Water Supply in the Municipality (%) ...... 47 7.1 Access to Nearest Financial Institution in the Municipality, 2008 ...... 63 7.2 Infants and Maternal Deaths in the Municipality ...... 65 7.3 Participation in Community Meetings and Associations in the Municipality ...... 66

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011

7.4 Type of Association Households Belong in the Municipality (%) ...... 67 7.5 Proportion of Households that make Contribution to Associations (%) ...... 67 7.6 Type of Contribution made to Associations in the Municipality (%) ...... 67 7.7 Proportion of Respondents that know the MCE and MP in the Municipality (%) ...... 68 7.8 Proportion of Households Indicating Difficulty in Interaction (%) ...... 68 7.9 Households’ Satisfaction with the Quality of Services Provided by the Municipal Assembly ...... 68 7.10 Proportion of Population in Municipality who used Legal Services and their Level of Satisfaction (%) ...... 69 7.11 Households’ Assessment of Governance in Terms of Access to Security, Legal Services and Access to the Municipal Assembly in the Past 12 Months ...... 69 7.12 Households’ Assessment of Governance in Terms of Access to Municipal Assembly and Performance of the Municipal Assembly in the past 12 Months ...... 70 7.13 The Proportion of Households Affected by Floods in the Municipality and Strategies Adopted to Cope with such Disasters ...... 72 7.14 The Proportion of Households Affected by Windstorms in the Municipality and Strategies Adopted to Cope with such Disasters ...... 72 7.15 The Proportion of Households Affected by Droughts in the Municipality and Strategies Adopted to Cope with such Disasters ...... 72 7.16 The Proportion of Households Affected by Bushfires in the Municipality and Strategies Adopted to Cope with such Disasters ...... 73 7.17 Relevance of Resources to Households in the Municipality ...... 74 7.18 Payment for Resource use by Households in the Municipality ...... 74 7.19 Willingness of Households to Pay for Resource use in the Municipality ...... 74 7.20 Adult Literacy in the municipality (15 years and older) by sex ………………………… 75 7.21 Percentages Receiving Financial and In-kind Support ………………………………… 75 7.22 Percentage of Household able to Survive Crisis ...... 75 7.23 Household with Safe Sanitation (main type of toilet) ...... 76 7.24 Percentage of Household with difficulty in Satisfying Food Needs Compared to a Year Ago ...... 76 8.1 Neighbourhood Watch Systems in the Municipality Compared with Regional and National Systems ...... 85 8.2 Percentage of Households that Feel Safe from Violence and Crime ...... 85 8.3 Percentage of Household Confident about State Protection ...... 85

MAPS 2.1 Location of Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 10 2.2 Topography and Drainage of Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 12 2.3 Population distributions per Enumeration Area ...... 13 6.1 Geology Distribution in the Municipality ...... 49 6.2 Soil Distribution in the Municipality ...... 50 6.3 Land Use/Land Cover Distribution in the Municipality ...... 52 6.4 Land Suitability for Cowpea (60 days at high level farm input) ...... 54 6.5 Land Suitability for Groundnut (90 days at high level farm input) ...... 55 6.6 Land Suitability for Maize (120 days at high level farm input) ...... 56 6.7 Transportation Network Distribution in the Municipality ...... 57

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011

PICTURES 1.1 A Community Discussion Session at Yikene in the Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 9 2.1 The Typical Dry Season Vegetation of the Bolgatanga Municipality ...... 11 2.2 A Borehole Constructed in the Municipality ...... 17 2.3 A Section of a Good Road Leading to the Municipality ...... 18 2.4 New Market Stalls in Bolgatanga ...... 21 2.5 The Bolgatanga Craft Village ...... 22 4.1 A Basic School Facility Recently Constructed in the Municipality ...... 34 4.2 Modern Girls Dormitory at the Bolgatanga Senior High School ...... 35 5.1 A Modern Housing Facility for Doctors at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital ...... 41 7.1 Barclays Bank, Bolgatanga Branch ...... 63 8.1 A Focus Group Discussion (FGD) Session in the Municipality ...... 79 8.2 A Typical Artisanal Carpentry Shop in the Northern Part of Ghana ...... 81

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011

Executive Summary

Introduction dollars. The Human Development Index (HDI) is, therefore, a composite of these

three variables. In 2006/2007, the HDI for The traditional conceptualization of well- Ghana is estimated at 0.553, which gives the being in Ghana does not focus only on the country a rank of 135th out of 177 countries income of a person, but also on what a with data (Human Development Report — person is capable of doing as well as on the Going Beyond Income, 2007/2008 — physical appearance of the person. Indeed, an UNDP). increase in body weight is looked upon with Since 1997, the Ghana Country Office favour and seen as an indication of of the UNDP in collaboration with improvement in one’s situation in life. The stakeholders and other partners has concept of human development is, therefore, facilitated the production of Ghana’s well-suited to the average Ghanaian’s National Human Development Reports concept of welfare and standard of living. (NHDRs) to enrich policy. A total of five This is because the UNDP’s concept of NHDRs have been produced and launched: human development aims to extend the the first report, the Ghana Human measure of living standards or well-being Development Report, 1997, focused on beyond income to incorporate other “Poverty and Human Development in important dimensions of living or being. Ghana”; the second, in 1998, examined Although income is an important determinant “Public-Private Partnership in Human of a person’s access to food, clothing and the Development”; the third, 2000 Report was on other basics of life, the correlation between “Science, Technology and Human well-being and the income level of a person Development”; the fourth, 2004/5 Report is not perfect. This is because poor people in was on the theme “ Breaking the HIV/AIDS assessing their circumstances in life do not Chains –A Human Development Challenge” focus only on the purchasing power of their and the fifth, in 2007, with the theme incomes. It is within this conceptual “Towards a more Inclusive Society”. framework that the UNDP defines human Building on the success of the national development as a process of enlarging reports and to respond to the growing people’s choices. The most critical of these development management needs at the choices are: the option to lead a long and decentralized level, the Human Development healthy life, to be knowledgeable and to Report approach has been taken to the enjoy a decent standard of living. district level to capture more development UNDP has since 1990 provided a issues from the grassroots. Two sets of three quantitative measure of human development. District Human Development Reports The measure focuses on the three dimensions (DHDRs) have been produced and launched. identified as critical to enlarging people’s The first sets of DHDRs for three districts — choices. Longevity is measured by life Atwima, Builsa and Tema in Ashanti, Upper expectancy at birth. Knowledge is a East and Greater Accra Regions respectively composite of adult literacy and gross were based on the theme: “Vulnerability”, primary, secondary and tertiary enrolment whilst the second set of another three rates. Standard of living is measured by DHDRs on the theme “Vulnerability and the income per capita in purchasing power parity

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011

Attainment of the MDGs at the Local Level” insights into the economic and social were prepared on the Districts of Ahanta conditions in the district and the strategies West, Ofinso and West Gonja in Western, that have been adopted and implemented Ashanti and Northern Regions respectively. regarding issues of human development. This third set of district human Data from the 2000 Population and development reports has also been prepared Housing Census was extensively used to for 12 districts: Bolgatanga Municipal, obtain district level information on Kassena Nankana and Bawku West in the population dynamics, housing characteristics, Upper East Region; Tamale Metropolitan, employment and education. Bole, Karaga, Nanumba North, Zabzugu/ Interviews conducted in the district Tatale and East Mamprusi in the Northern involved qualitative and quantitative Region; and Wa, Lawra and Sissala East in techniques, principally to gather information the Upper West Region. The theme for the on various dimensions of the MDGs and also third set of reports reflects on resource for the assessment of the resource endowments, investment opportunities and endowment and investment opportunities attainment of MDGs at the local level. The component of the report. Two main reports are intended to serve as basis for the questionnaires were used for this purpose; preparation of Community Action Plans, community (a check list of services and informing the District Planning Process. infrastructure available in addition to detail It is important to note that there is some discussion on development issues) and overlap between the human development, household questionnaires. The community human poverty and gender development questionnaire was completed during group indices on one hand and the MDGs on the discussions with traditional leaders of the other. communities, members of the district assembly, resident in a community and Methodology opinion leaders. The objective of the questionnaire was to obtain information The team applied both quantitative and about the socio-economic development of the qualitative methods to gather data from three communities we visited, land tenure different sources for the preparation of this arrangements, resources and investments report. We obtained secondary data from within communities. various censuses conducted in Ghana, and The household questionnaire is extracted data from the district-based Core separated into different modules but is Welfare Indicators Questionnaire survey that answered by the head of household or his/her was conducted in 2003. The team also representative. The questionnaire covered conducted a socio-economic survey in the information on the structure of the district in December 2008 and consulted household, employment, assets of the various stakeholders to ensure that their household, health, and education among interests were addressed and technical other variables. The different types of omissions minimized. Some aspects of the resources available within the districts, district’s profile were obtained from investments opportunities and how these documents including the Medium-Term variables are impacting on the well-being of District Development Plan prepared for the households, political participation and implementation of the Ghana’s Medium- natural hazards were all covered. Term Development Plans. In addition, In order to ensure comparability with various departments of the district assembly the CWIQ 2003 data, a two stage sampling provided information on their activities over procedure was employed with the objective the last five years. This gave the team of generating results that are representative

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011 enough. The approach was multi-stage and assesses the progress of the district probability sampling, clustered, and stratified towards the realization of the MDGs. It also with probability proportional to the size of discusses the resource endowments and the district’s population. investment opportunities in the district and We randomly selected well-defined the possible effects on the attainment of enumeration areas (EAs) from the Ghana MDGs and improvement in human Statistical Service (GSS) database for development. The following are the key district. The enumeration areas were properly findings. described by the cartography section of GSS 1. In education, the municipality has and had well-defined boundaries, identified witnessed improvements in the on maps, and were relatively of small sizes enrolment of school children in the with a cluster of households. These clusters primary and JHS levels. The gender were demarcated along the lines of the dimension of enrolment shows that proven process used by the GSS in its female enrolment outnumbers that of implementation of Ghana Living Standard male at the kindergarten and primary Surveys (especially III, IV and V) and Core levels of education, but this seems to Welfare Indicators Questionnaire I and II. reverse at the JHS level. Also a high rate The selected EAs or communities were listed of female dropout is observed at all the to know the total number of households that levels of education, raising concerns served as sampling frame from which an about gender disparity in education in appropriate sample size was selected the municipality. systematically for each stratum in a district. 2. There is considerable improvement in The technique of stratification was both the gross and net enrolment rates at employed in the sample design to enhance all levels of education owing to the precision and reliability of the estimates. The increase in the number of public schools stratification of the frame for the survey was at all levels from kindergarten to the based on the size of the locality the Junior High School (JHS), while private enumeration area was chosen from: i.e. schools either remained the same or whether the locality is urban, semi-urban or slightly increased as well. The kinder- rural. Sampling within each stratum was garten enrolment increased 4.6 per cent done independent of others and the approach 2005/2006, in 2007 and 2008, while the of picking the number of enumeration areas primary and JHS enrolments increased 5 in each stratum was proportional to the per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively for population size in each stratum. This was the same period. These increases reflect followed by systematic sample selection the kind of positive attention that both within each stratum. In all, a minimum of parents and the municipality have given 239 households were chosen from 15 EAs in to improve human resource develop- the district. ment. In addition to the administration of the 3. The number of teachers attending to the household survey, focus group discussions schools in the municipality also shows were conducted in six communities to reflect increases at all levels between the stratification. 2005/2006 and 2007/2008 academic years, with untrained teachers constitu- Findings ting a substantial proportion of the total at all levels, particularly the The Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly report kindergarten schools. The ratio of analyzes the human development situation untrained to trained teachers improved

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011

slightly at the kindergarten level from 6. Malaria is among the most reported 3.4 in 2005/2006 to 2.1 in 2007/2008; diseases in the municipality and the high while that for trained teachers to incidence is a threat to improving the untrained teachers declined at both the life expectancy of the population. primary and JHS levels from 2.2 in Increased awareness creation and the 2005/2006 to 1.8 in 2007/2008 at the adoption of malaria-preventive strategies primary level, and from 4.6 in such as insecticide treated bed nets for 2005/2006 to 2.6 in 2007/2008 at the children, clearing of weeds and JHS level. maintaining sanitation around houses are 4. There has been improvement in the important. health sector with indications of 7. In terms of drinking water in the improvement towards achieving the municipality, our survey indicates that, MDGs 4, 5 and 6. Access to medical the majority of urban dwellers get their facilities is relatively high in the water from pipe-borne water sources municipality. The attendance of (either individual or public stand water pregnant women at pre-natal clinics is taps). This represents about 79 per cent relatively high compared with post-natal of the urban population. On the other attendance. Hence the performance of hand, most of the rural population in the the municipality in sustaining a decline municipality obtain water from in the area of maternal mortality needs boreholes (about 72%), implying that attention for the realization of that tap water and boreholes are the main MDG. Most of the population in the sources of safe water. Also, it takes less urban areas of the municipality visit than 15 minutes for both urban and rural either a public hospital/clinic (48.2%) or dwellers in the municipality to reach private hospital/clinic (45.8%) when water sources, indicating that sick, compared to those in the rural areas accessibility to water is generally easy. However, progress must be speed up to (27.7% and 27.5% visit public sustain the rising trends in the provision hospital/clinic and private hospital/clinic of safe drinking water. Overall the respectively). As expected, more of percentage of the population enjoying those living in the rural areas use safe drinking water increased from 64 community health centres (23.1%) and per cent in 2005 to 73 per cent in 2007. pharmacies/chemical shops (13.1%) 8. Some improvements were also recorded than those living in the urban areas. in sanitation. The percentage of the Incidentally, fewer people and almost population in the municipality using safe equal proportions of both urban and excreta disposal facility increased from rural dwellers use the services of 33 per cent in 2005 to 45 per cent in traditional healers when sick. 2007; and those using KVIL facilities 5. The health system has emphasized increased from 11 per cent to 17 per cent preventive healthcare, and encouraged during the same period. However, more, both urban and rural dwellers to use need to be done to effectively check the various methods particularly for malaria indiscriminate disposal of garbage by prevention. The use of treated bed nets, sections of the population in the regular weeding of compound and use of municipality, particularly in the rural mosquito coil are among the key areas. strategies households in the municipality 9. The Bolgatanga township, itself, is faced adopt against malaria. with daunting challenges in the

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011

management of both solid and liquid literacy (knowledge) and access to safe wastes. In solid waste, there are huge water. In terms of food insecurity, it is gaps in the amount of refuse that could relatively more difficult to satisfy food be collected per day and the refuse needs in the urban municipal compared generated. This results in rampant to the rural municipal and more littering of streets and drains, posing pronounced among men than women. health and other hazards to residents. 13. A major challenge to achieving the 10. The unemployment rates among the health, education, water and sanitation youth have been on the increase in the targets of the MDGs in the municipality municipality and have been higher is the relatively high level of illiteracy among males than females. In general, and poverty which have combined to there is a disparity in rural-urban expose many people to health hazards unemployment. Underemployment is and account for the relative low standard also high. Both variables seem to be of living of the people. It is therefore serious issues in the municipality. For very important to intensify education, example, it was observed that over 68 water and sanitation and preventive per cent of the respondents in our 2008 health strategies, particularly malaria survey did not do any type of work that prevention strategies, to make all brought in income either in cash or in households aware of the need to adopt kind. Only about 31 per cent of the some measures to prevent the illness and respondents indicated that they were minimize the incidence of malaria- gainfully employed. Similarly, only 13.5 related deaths through proper sanitation per cent were either looking for work or control. ready for work, while 83.5 per cent said 14. As regards child mortality, considerable no to looking for work or being ready progress has been made in reducing for work. malnutrition, stunting, wasting and the 11. Perception of poverty based on the value number of underweight. judgment of respondents in the 2003 CWIQ Survey, indicates that most The Way Forward households considered themselves poor (57.0%), and this is higher compared to those who considered themselves poor in both the Upper East Region (54.2%) There are critical areas of concern, and Ghana (37.1%) as a whole. Using challenges and opportunities that need the level of happiness of households to serious policy considerations in order to capture their perception of poverty enable the municipality to utilize sustainably reveals that, although about 68.9 per and efficiently the natural resources it is cent of households in 2003 considered endowed with to improve human develop- themselves to be either poor or very ment as well as put the municipality on track poor, poverty did not adversely affect to meet the MDGs. The outcomes of the the happiness of most of the population economic situation of the households in the since over 54.2 per cent claimed to be communities and the progress made so far very happy or quite happy. towards the achievement of MDGs suggest 12. The impact of economic activity on that the municipality has not fully exploited poverty indicators shows that over all, the numerous resource endowments at its the municipality performs better relative disposal to generate more employment, to the national situation in terms of adult enhance literacy, reduce poverty as well as

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011 increase access to safe drinking water and The municipality has to continue to improve sanitation. The natural resource focus on improving not only the quantity endowments exploitation for livelihood of educational facilities but also pay emanates from the interaction of the quality particular attention to the skill-training of the human resource skills, agriculture and institutes and the quality of the related activities and a need to efficiently educational sector. This will require enhance investment opportunities to provide cooperation between the BMA and other employment to the youth. The following stakeholders (including development suggestions are critical for the way forward: partners and NGOs) in ensuring that the human resource development agenda is 1. The potential of the municipality to prioritized. contribute to its economic development 4. Investment opportunities in the rests on the exploitation of the abundant municipality face several challenges. To natural resources. Access to and the use promote investments and sustain them, of the resource endowments by house- land tenure security combined with holds is complementary to the other improvements in infrastructure, financial forms of capital and is particularly an support, markets and appropriate important mechanism for escaping technology and enhanced security, are poverty through strengthening the vital. Investment incentive packages capabilities of the household. need to be developed by the Bolgatanga 2. The institution-resource access relation- Municipal Assembly (BMA), along with ship that highlights the participation of technical support from other govern- individuals in accessing governance in mental and non-governmental organiza- the municipality needs to be enhanced tions to facilitate the exploitation of for broader community participation. natural resource endowments in the Most communities indicated that they municipality to generate income to interact more with their local assembly reduce poverty and help make progress member than with the MP or MCE, on the MDGs. which is expected as the assembly 5. In addition to incentives to attract member resides with the local investments, strengthening institutions community. Communities therefore to secure the natural resource base to relay their problems and grievances sustain investments are also important. through their assembly member to the Securing the resource base depends on Municipal Assembly. Their participation credit provision, generating appropriate in community development programmes revenues from the existing use of the is, therefore, through their assembly resources and safeguarding the members. The municipality needs to resources. There are several institutions strengthen the assembly member- providing credit facilities in the community linkage to enhance effective municipality that could enhance not only community participation in governance. the investment opportunities, but also 3. Human resource development and foster the efficient exploitation and utilization concerning education, train- utilization of the natural resource ing, employment opportunities and the endowments in the municipality. building of incentives for useful and 6. Revenue mobilization is critical in the productive activities are important in municipality, and the IRS must expand harnessing the resource endowments. its operations and get closer to the

Bolgatanga Municipality Human Development Report 2011

people by giving them tax education and 11. Finally, communities should be helping to ease the several logistical supported with programmes to mitigate problems it faces. emergency situations including 7. The water and sanitation plans of the provision of food aid, and community municipality to increase access to water driven infrastructure needs such as and sanitation must be pursued schools a nd markets. Provision of inputs vigorously to meet targets of the — (seeds, animal breeds, tools, etc.) is a Millennium Development Goals. critical area for intervention by NGOs. 8. In addition, the efforts of the The BMA support given to NGOs must municipality in the area of environmental sustainability can be further be strengthened to enhance the stepped up by high level community public-private sector partnerships. participation in communal work to reverse the degradation and the need to recover degraded lands, protect those under threat, and enhance their ecological dysfunction that has arisen through human interference in the form of periodic bushfires and unsustainable land management practices. 9. The Ghana National Fire Service and the Agricultural Extension Services need support in safeguarding the natural resources in the municipality and to develop agriculture beyond subsisting standards and to enhance the agricultural sector to be competitive, respectively. Halving the number of people whose income is less than one dollar and the proportion who suffer from hunger in the municipality will greatly depend on agricultural resource exploitation and protection. 10. The municipality and other stakeholders should encourage, support and help sustain the formation of various Farmer Based Organizations (FBOs) preferably along commodity/agro-business lines. Training of FBOs should be targeted to address specific issues that will enhance women capacity to perform their roles in the farm-to-market-chain-links. Encour- aging the involvement of NGOs in the municipality to sustain the natural resource endowments is imperative.

Introduction

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Human Development freedom.”1 Building on Sen’s analysis of poverty and capability, UNDP defines human The traditional conceptualization of well- development as a process of enlarging being in Ghana does not focus only on the people’s choices. The most critical of these income of a person, but also on what a person choices are: the option to lead a long and is capable of doing as well as on the physical healthy life, to be knowledgeable and to appearance of the person. Indeed, an increase enjoy a decent standard of living. in body weight is looked upon with favour UNDP has since 1990 provided a and seen as an indication of improvement in quantitative measure of human development. one’s situation in life. The concept of human The measure focuses on the three dimensions development, therefore, may be considered as identified as critical to enlarging people’s being well-suited to the average Ghanaian’s choices. Longevity is measured by life concept of welfare and standard of living. expectancy at birth. Knowledge is a This is because UNDP’s concept of human composite of adult literacy and gross development aims to extend the measure of primary, secondary and tertiary enrolment living standards or well-being beyond income rates. Standard of living is measured by to incorporate other important dimensions of income per capita in purchasing power parity living or being. Although income is an dollars. The Human Development Index important determinant of a person’s access to (HDI) is a composite of these three variables food, clothing and the other basics of life, the (Box 1.1). Ghana’s HDI is estimated to have correlation between well-being and the risen from 0.515 in 1990 to 0.537 in 1995. It income level of a person is not perfect. This rose to 0.560 and 0.568 in 2000 and 2002 is because poor people in assessing their respectively and declined to 0.532 in 2004. In circumstances in life do not focus only on the 2006/2007, the HDI for Ghana is estimated at purchasing power of their incomes. 0.553, which gives the country a rank of 135th According to Sen (2000), “income may out of 177 countries with data (Human be the most prominent means for a good life Development Report — Going Beyond without deprivation, but it is not the only Income, 2007/2008, UNDP). Life expectancy influence on the lives we can lead. If our th paramount interest is in the lives that people at birth is 59.1 years (and Ghana is at 137 ), can lead — the freedom they have to lead adult literacy rate is 57.9 percent (of ages 15 th minimally decent lives, then it cannot but be years and older, and Ghana is 117 ), a mistake to concentrate exclusively only on combined primary, secondary and tertiary one or the other of the means to such gross enrollment rate is 50.7 percent (and

1 Sen, A. (2000), pp. 3.

Bolgatanga Municipality 22 Introduction

Ghana is at 146th), while GDP per capita (PPP US$) is 2,480 (and Ghana is at 126th). Box 1.1: Calculating the Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of human development. It measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development:

• A long and healthy life, as measured by life expectancy at birth. • Knowledge as measured by the adult literacy rate (two-thirds weight) and the combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio (one-third weight). • A decent standard of living as measured by GDP per capita (PPP US$).

Before the HDI is calculated, an index needs to be created for each of the dimensions. To calculate these dimension indices, minimum and maximum values (goalposts) are chosen for each underlying indicator. Performance in each dimension is expressed as a value between 0 and 1, applying the following general formula: actual value - minimum value Dimension = maximum value - minimum value

The HDI is calculated as a simple average of the dimension indices

Goal Posts for calculating the HDI Indicator Maximum Value Minimum Value

Life Expectancy at Birth 85 25 Adult Literacy Rate (%) 100 0 Combined Gross Enrolment Ratio (%) 100 0 Gross Domestic Product per capita (PPP US$) 40,000 100

Source: UNDP Human Development Report, 2004, New York.

These national aggregate figures mask in Ghana; the second, in 1998, examined critical information on regional and district Public-Private Partnership in Human level disparities. They do not provide Development; the third, 2000 Report was on information on progress made or the lack of the Science, Technology and Human it, by different groups in the country. The Development; the fourth, 2004/5 Report was gender-related development index also on the theme “ Breaking the HIV/AIDS produced by UNDP, aims to reveal the Chains —A Human Development Challenge; gender dimensions of the three components and the fifth, in 2007, with the theme of human development (Box 1.1).2 ‘Towards a more Inclusive Society’”. Since 1997, the Ghana Country Office Building on the success of the national of the UNDP in collaboration with reports and to respond to the growing stakeholders and other partners has facilitated development management needs at the the production of Ghana’s National Human decentralized level, the Human Development Development Reports (NHDRs) to enrich Report approach has been taken to the district policy. A total of five NHDRs have been level to capture more development issues produced and launched: the first report, the from the grassroots. Two sets of three Ghana Human Development Report, 1997, Districts Human Development Reports focused on Poverty and Human Development (DHDRs) have been produced and launched. The first set of DHDRs for three districts — Atwima, Builsa and Tepa in Ashanti, Upper 2 This is a composite index that adjusts the average achievement of each country in life expectancy, educational East and Greater Accra Regions respectively attainment and income to take into account the disparity in were based on the theme: “Vulnerability”, achievement between women and men.

Bolgatanga Municipality 23 Introduction whilst the second set of another three DHDRs each has a matrix indicating the linkage on the theme “Vulnerability and the between identified priorities and the MDGs. Attainment of the MDGs at the Local Level” There is some overlap between the were prepared on the Districts of Ahanta human development, human poverty and West, Offinso and West Gonja in Western, gender development indices on one hand and Ashanti and Northern Regions respectively. the MDGs on the other. This third set of district human development reports has also been prepared Resource Endowments and for 12 districts: Bole, Nanumba North, Investment Opportunities Zabzugu Tatale, Tamale, Karaga and East Mamprusi all in the Northern region; Resource endowments provide for the needs Bolgatanga, Bawku West and Kasena- and wants of the people in a location. These Nankana in the Upper East region; and Wa, resources — natural and man-made, Lawra and Sissala East in the Upper West renewable and non-renewable — including region. The theme for the third set of reports land, water, minerals, human, physical reflects on resource endowments, investment infrastructure, training and education opportunities and an assessment of MDGs resources, access to transportation and gaps to serve as a basis for the preparation of communication networks, and the political Community Action Plans, informing the and regulatory environment, are the District Planning Process. fundamentals that determine the pace of innovation and economic growth in that Millennium Development Goals location and has implications for the (MDGs) attainment of the MDGs and improvement in human development. Resource endowments The adoption of the Millennium Declaration and its economic, social and political by Heads of State in September 2000 utilization are ultimately what distinguish one formally introduced the MDGs onto the area’s economic development from another. development agenda. The MDGs were the In particular, because natural resource results of the thinking that began in the mid- endowment remains relatively constant or 1990s on strategies to improve aid declines under environmental pressure, the effectiveness. The MDGs consist of 8 goals, size of the human population that can be 21 targets and 60 indicators (Refer to Table sustainably supported based on the current 1.1 for details), and have become an integral consumption patterns and prevailing part of Ghana’s development strategy. technologies is decreasing. Hence the ability Ghana’s successive Medium-Term of a location’s natural resource base to Development Plans (MTDPs) “…seek to sustain human activity is determined by two factors: its natural resource endowment and operationalize various international agree- the pressure placed on it by human activity. ments which are relevant to the poverty Resource endowments are, therefore, not reduction objectives and of which Ghana is static. They vary according to levels of signatory. Principal among these is the technology, market conditions and consumer millennium Development Goals (MGDs)…” preferences. A synergy has been created between the A location rich in natural resource Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) would attract entrepreneurs who would initiative and the MDGs by the employ the resource in production and transformation of the latter “into the thereby creating jobs. Support industries mandatory framework of domestic economic would follow and the cycle of growth would policy in return for the grant of debt relief” be perpetuated. Through this process, natural (Republic of Ghana 2005). As a result, resource abundance can be associated with MTDP and the district development plans, the positive aspects of economic growth.

Bolgatanga Municipality 24 Introduction Thus the utilization of today’s resource appropriate resources to promote future endowments in a location reflects the past innovation and growth is the task of today’s course of private investment decisions and decision-makers. public policies. Ensuring adequate and Table 1.1: Official list of MDG indicators (Effective 15 January 2008) Goals and Targets3 Indicators for monitoring progress Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Target 1.A: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the 1.1 Proportion of population below $1 (PPP) per day proportion of people whose income is 1.2 Poverty gap ratio less than one dollar a day 1.3 Share of poorest quintile in national consumption Target 1.B: Achieve full and productive 1.4 Growth rate of GDP per person employed employment and decent work for all, 1.5 Employment-to-population ratio including women and young people 1.6 Proportion of employed people living below $1 (PPP) per day 1.7 Proportion of own-account and contributing family workers in total employment Target 1.C: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the 1.8 Prevalence of underweight children under-five years of age proportion of people who suffer from 1.9 Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy hunger consumption Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education Target 2.A: Ensure that, by 2015, children 2.1 Net enrolment ratio in primary education everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be 2.2 Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach last grade of able to complete a full course of primary primary schooling 2.3 Literacy rate of 15-24 year-olds, women and men Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women Target 3.A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary 3.1 Ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education and secondary education, preferably by 3.2 Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural 2005, and in all levels of education no sector later than 2015 3.3 Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament Goal 4: Reduce child mortality Target 4.A: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 4.1 Under-five mortality rate and 2015, the under-five mortality rate 4.2 Infant mortality rate 4.3 Proportion of 1 year-old children immunised against measles Goal 5: Improve maternal health Target 5.A: Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 5.1 Maternal mortality ratio and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio 5.2 Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel Target 5.B: Achieve, by 2015, universal access to 5.3 Contraceptive prevalence rate reproductive health 5.4 Adolescent birth rate

5.5 Antenatal care coverage (at least one visit and at least four visits)

5.6 Unmet need for family planning Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Target 6.A: Have halted by 2015 and begun to 6.1 HIV prevalence among population aged 15-24 years reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS 6.2 Condom use at last high-risk sex 6.3 Proportion of population aged 15-24 years with comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS 6.4 Ratio of school attendance of orphans to school attendance of non- orphans aged 10-14 years Target 6.B: Achieve, by 2010, universal access to 6.5 Proportion of population with advanced HIV infection with access treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those to antiretroviral drugs who need it Target 6.C: Have halted by 2015 and begun to 6.6 Incidence and death rates associated with malaria reverse the incidence of malaria and 6.7 Proportion of children under 5 sleeping under insecticide-treated other major diseases bednets 6.8 Proportion of children under 5 with fever who are treated with appropriate anti-malarial drugs 6.9 Incidence, prevalence and death rates associated with tuberculosis

3 All indicators should be disaggregated by sex and urban/rural as far as possible.

Bolgatanga Municipality 25 Introduction

6.10 Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured under directly observed treatment short course Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability Target 7.A: Integrate the principles of sustainable 7.1 Proportion of land area covered by forest development into country policies and 7.2 CO2 emissions, total, per capita and per $1 GDP (PPP) programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources 7.3 Consumption of ozone-depleting substances Target 7.B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 7.4 Proportion of fish stocks within safe biological limits 2010, a significant reduction in the rate 7.5 Proportion of total water resources used of loss 7.6 Proportion of terrestrial and marine areas protected 7.7 Proportion of species threatened with extinction Target 7.C: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people 7.8 Proportion of population using an improved drinking water source without sustainable access to safe 7.9 Proportion of population using an improved sanitation facility drinking water and basic sanitation ii Target 7.D: By 2020, to have achieved a significant 7.10 Proportion of urban population living in slums improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development Target 8.A: Develop further an open, rule-based, Some of the indicators listed below are monitored separately for the predictable, non-discriminatory trading least developed countries (LDCs), Africa, landlocked developing and financial system countries and small island developing States. Official development assistance (ODA) Includes a commitment to good governance, 8.1 Net ODA, total and to the least developed countries, as percentage development and poverty reduction – of OECD/DAC donors’ gross national income both nationally and internationally 8.2 Proportion of total bilateral, sector-allocable ODA of OECD/DAC donors to basic social services (basic education, primary health care, nutrition, safe water and sanitation) Target 8.B: Address the special needs of the least 8.3 Proportion of bilateral official development assistance of developed countries. OECD/DAC donors that is untied Includes tariff and quota free access for the least 8.4 ODA received in landlocked developing countries as a proportion developed countries' exports; enhanced of their gross national incomes programme of debt relief for heavily 8.5 ODA received in small island developing States as a proportion of indebted poor countries (HIPC) and their gross national incomes cancellation of official bilateral debt; Market access and more generous ODA for countries 8.6 Proportion of total developed country imports (by value and committed to poverty reduction excluding arms) from developing countries and least developed countries, admitted free of duty Target 8.C: Address the special needs of landlocked 8.7 Average tariffs imposed by developed countries on agricultural developing countries and small island products and textiles and clothing from developing countries developing States (through the 8.8 Agricultural support estimate for OECD countries as a percentage Programme of Action for the Sustainable of their gross domestic product Development of Small Island 8.9 Proportion of ODA provided to help build trade capacity Developing States and the outcome of the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly) Debt sustainability Target 8.D: Deal comprehensively with the debt 8.10 Total number of countries that have reached their HIPC decision problems of developing countries points and number that have reached their HIPC completion points through national and international (cumulative) measures in order to make debt 8.11 Debt relief committed under HIPC and MDRI Initiatives sustainable in the long term 8.12 Debt service as a percentage of exports of goods and services Target 8.E: In cooperation with pharmaceutical 8.13 Proportion of population with access to affordable essential drugs companies, provide access to affordable on a sustainable basis essential drugs in developing countries Target 8.F: In cooperation with the private sector, 8.14 Telephone lines per 100 population make available the benefits of new 8.15 Cellular subscribers per 100 population technologies, especially information and 8.16 Internet users per 100 population communications

Bolgatanga Municipality 26 Introduction

A location rich in natural resource however, on the human resource capabilities would attract entrepreneurs who would within the household. Human resources — employ the resource in production and the availability of adequate supplies of labour thereby creating jobs. Support industries with the requisite skills and abilities — is would follow and the cycle of growth would essential to a thriving local economy. Thus be perpetuated. Through this process, natural the failure of a locality or household to resource abundance can be associated with improve on its human resource capabilities the positive aspects of economic growth. could lead to the failure to attain the MDGs. Thus the utilization of today’s resource For instance, in today’s increasingly endowments in a location reflects the past knowledge-based economy, cognitive skills course of private investment decisions and are increasingly important, and completion of public policies. Ensuring adequate and at least some basic type of education has appropriate resources to promote future become an essential prerequisite for many innovation and growth is the task of today’s types of jobs and to effectively participate in decision-makers. institutions and access the local resource Crowley and Appendini,4 however, endowments. notes the changing institution-resource access relationships in Africa that highlights the The Report resource endowments and problems associated with the participation of The Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly Human individuals. Participation in land, labour, and Development report is one of the six human agricultural markets can determine the types development reports prepared to assess and quantities of resources with which a endowment, investment opportunities and household is endowed and exploited. In attainment of MDGs in 12 selected districts addition, markets can provide an alternative in the Northern Region. The report analyzes means of access to land and other resources the human development situation and for households with enough capital, for assesses the progress of the district towards instance, to rent or buy land in other areas. the realization of the MDGs. It also discusses Others could seek off-farm employment; the resource endowments and investment participate in local, national, and trans- opportunities in the district and the possible national labour markets, in order to substitute effects on the attainment of MDGs and cash for land resources in their endowment improvement in human development. The portfolio. report also examines how the findings could Thus, participation in institutions not influence the district in Community Action only affects access to resources; the contrary Plans, inform the District Planning Process, is also true: access to resources affects and serve as baseline information for the participation in institutions. When there is evaluation of the programme and policies of absolute local scarcity of a resource, this can the attainment of the MDGs. The report also often be overcome through institutional inputs into UNDP’s proposed support for the interactions. development of the Long-Term National Increased participation of households in Development Plan and reinforces the resource exploitation for livelihoods depends, capacity of the district and community institutions for MDG-based assessment, planning, monitoring and evaluation. 4 Crowley, E. and Appendini, K. (2006). Rural Poverty, Population Dynamics, Local Institutions and Access to Resources. SD. Special: Population, Poverty and Methodology and Data Environment. FAO.

Bolgatanga Municipality 27 Introduction

Both quantitative and qualitative methods information on various dimensions of the were applied to gather data from different MDGs and human development indicators sources for the preparation of this report. and also for the assessment of the resource Information was obtained from official endowments and investment opportunities component of the report. Two main documents such as various censuses questionnaires were used for this purpose: the conducted in Ghana, and the district-based community questionnaires and household Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire questionnaires. The community questionnaire (CWIQ) survey that was conducted in 2003. was completed during focal group The DAEA, in close collaboration with the discussions with leaders of the communities, Bolgatanga Municipality also conducted a members of the town committees resident in socio-economic survey (including focus the community and opinion leaders. The group discussions) in the district in objective of the questionnaire was to obtain November–December 2008 and consulted information about the socio-economic various stakeholders to ensure that their development of the communities visited, resources available and utilized and interests were addressed and technical investment opportunities, among others. omissions minimized. The household questionnaire was separated into different modules but is Secondary Data Sources answered by the head of household or his/her Some aspects of the district’s profile were representative. The questionnaire covered obtained from documents that had been information on the structure of the household, prepared by the Bolgatanga Municipality for employment, assets of the household, health their programmes, particularly the Medium- (maternal and child), education, household Term District Development Plan (2006– consumption patterns and expenditures, 2009) prepared for the implementation of the resource endowments and utilization Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy. In including agriculture, non-farm investments; addition, various departments of the access to services, political participation, Bolgatanga Municipality provided informa- migration (scope and reason) and natural tion on their activities over the last five years. hazards and environmental impacts. This provided insights into the economic and Sampling Techniques social conditions in the municipality and the strategies adopted and implemented, In order to ensure comparability with the including those in relation to issues of human CWIQ 2003 data, a two-stage sampling development. procedure was employed with the objective An important source of additional of generating results that are representative of secondary data was the census. Data from the the district. The approach was multi-stage 2000 Population and Housing Census were probability sampling, clustered, and stratified used extensively to obtain district-level with probability proportional to the size of information on population dynamics, housing the district. characteristics, employment and education. The sampling design was prepared by Primary Data Collection personnel of Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) who randomly selected well defined Interviews were conducted in the Bolgatanga enumeration areas (EAs) from the GSS Municipality using qualitative and quantita- database of the district. The enumeration tive techniques, principally to gather areas were properly described by the GSS

Bolgatanga Municipality 28 Introduction and had well-defined boundaries, identified sample selection within each stratum. In all, on maps, and were relatively of small sizes 239 households were chosen from 15 having clusters of households. These selected EAs in the municipality. The EAs enumeration areas are demarcated along the from which the households were selected are lines of the proven process used by the GSS shown in Table 1.2. In the report, the rural in its implementation of Ghana Living and semi-rural households were grouped in Standard Surveys (especially III, IV and V) the rural category to ensure harmonization and Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaires I with CWIQ 2003 and 2000 census. and II. The selected EAs or communities Focus group discussions were carried were listed fully to know the total number of out in six of the communities to reflect the households that served as sampling frame stratification. In addition, interviews were from which an appropriate sample size was conducted with institutional leaders in the selected systematically for each stratum in district (see Picture 1.1). the district. This was done to facilitate manageable interviewer workload within Outline of the Report each sample area and also reduce the effects The Report has nine chapters. After the of intra-class correlation within a sample area introductory chapter, the profile of on the variance of the survey estimates. Bolgatanga Municipal is outlined in Chapter An enumeration team listed all 2 and covers physical features, demographic households in each of the chosen characteristics, socio-economic infrastruc- enumeration areas. This was important ture and housing characteristics, human because some of the enumeration areas had security in the district, governance changed in size since the 2000 Population (traditional and state) and status of MDGs. and Housing Census and the sampling Economic activity and poverty including approach at this stage did not consider their employment, unemployment and under- sizes before the selection. An equal number employment, child labour and objective and of households in each Enumeration Area subjective assessments of poverty in the (EA) were also selected. The listing district are discussed in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 information was needed to compute the focuses on education and literacy by appropriate weights for proper estimation at analyzing quality of school infrastructure, the analysis stage. school attendance as well as education Stratification attainment and adult literacy. In chapter 5, the report assesses the health, water and The technique of stratification was employed sanitation situation in the district in relation in the sample design to enhance precision and to the MDGs and resource endowments and reliability of the estimates. The stratification investment opportunities. The chapter of the frame for the survey was based on the examines the trends in infant, child and size of the locality the enumeration area was maternal mortality rates and the incidence of chosen from, that is, whether the locality is HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases urban, semi-urban or rural. Sampling within as well as household access to safe drinking each stratum was done independently and the water and basic sanitation. Chapter 6 approach of picking the number of discusses resource endowments with respect enumeration areas in each stratum was to the human, infrastructure and natural proportional to the population size in each resources in the district. It also discusses the stratum. This was followed by systematic institutions and governance, hazards and their

Bolgatanga Municipality 29 Introduction attendant environmental impacts. The usage and constraints of these resources and the effects on the MDGs are examined in Chapter 7. Chapter 8 discusses the investment opportunities and risk factors contingent on the resource endowments. The last chapter then provides a summary and policy recommendations.

Bolgatanga Municipality 30 Profile of the District

Table 1.2: Enumeration Areas (EAs) and Localities covered by the Household Survey Locality Name of EA Category Sample Size Average Household Size Sherigu Sherigu Ataasobila Rural 16 3 Sumbrugu Sumbrugu Kologo Rural 16 6 Yikene Yikene Adaamabisi Rural 16 6 Bolgatanga Sandgarden Annex Urban 16 5 Yorogo Yorogo Rural 16 7 Bolgatanga Soe Urban 16 5 Bolgatanga Bolgatanga Urban 16 5 Tindonsobulugu Tindonsobulugu Rural 16 4 Bolgatanga Vag Hall Urban 16 3 Kumbosigo Kumbosigo Rural 16 7 Zuarungu Zuarungu Nyokoko Rural 16 9 Bolgatanga Soe Maclean Dam Urban 16 3 Bolgatanga Hotel Oasis Urban 16 5 Bolgatanga Assemblies of God Area Urban 16 5 Kalbeo Kalbeo Awure Zeb Rural 15 7 Total Sample Size / Average H/h size 239 5.33 Source: 2008 DAEA Household Survey.

Picture 1.1: A Community Discussion Session at Yikene in the Bolgatanga Municipality.

Bolgatanga Municipality 10 Profile of the District CHAPTER 2

Profile of the District

Physical Features Municipal) which together with six other districts constitute the Upper East Region of The Bolgatanga Municipality was established Ghana. in 2004 by Legislative Instrument (LI) 1797 A major irrigation project, the Vea (2004). Located in the centre of the Upper Project covering 850 hectares, is located in East Region, approximately, between the municipality. The municipality falls latitudes 10°30' and 10°50' North and within the Birimian Tarkwaian and Voltaian longitudes 0°30' and 1°00' West (Map 2.1), it rocks of Ghana; and there is ample evidence is also the regional capital. Bolgatanga of the presence of minerals particularly gold Municipality is bordered to the north by the in the area. The main rivers are the White Bongo District, south and east by Talensi- and Red Volta, and their tributaries. The Nabdam District, and to the West by landscape has gentle slopes ranging from 1 Kassena-Nankana District. It covers a total per cent to 5 per cent with some isolated rock 2 land area of 729 km . It is one of two outcrops and some uplands which have municipalities (the other being Bawku slopes of over 10 per cent.

Map 2.1: Ghana: Showing Location of Bolgatanga Municipality

Bolgatanga Municipality 11 Profile of the District Vegetation and Climate Demographic Characteristics

The guinea savannah woodland consisting of Population Size, Growth Rate and Density short deciduous trees widely spaced and a ground flora dominates the natural vegetation The population of the municipality is of the municipality, and it is usually scorched 147,729 with a growth rate of 1.7 per cent. by the sun or gets burnt during the long dry This is lower than the national rate of 2.7 per season (see Picture 2.1 and Map 2.2). cent. The population density is 141.2 persons per sq. km. This is far greater than the national density of 79.3 persons per sq. km. The distribution of the population in terms of age shows a slightly higher percentage of adults (50.8%) than children (47.7%) as indicated in Table 2.1. Also, more of the inhabitants were born in the municipality, particularly in the rural sections (93.6%) of the municipality as compared to those born in the urban areas (69.1%) of the municipality. This implies that most of the migrants to the municipality have come to live in the urban sections. Picture 2.1: The Typical Dry Season Vegetation of the Bolgatanga Township covers a Bolgatanga Municipality. radius of about 3 kilometres and consists of suburbs such as Yikene, Dulugu, Kumbosogo, Tindonmo-ligo which are all The most common economic trees are the peri-urban in nature. sheanut, dawadawa, baobab and acacia. There is also a forest reserve in the municipality, which primarily protects most of the water bodies in the area. The climate is Ethnic Composition classified as tropical and has two distinct seasons — a wet season that runs from May Bolgatanga Township has a cosmopolitan to October and a long dry season that population, which is about 72,768 (MHA- Bolga). Although majority of the inhabitants stretches from October to April; with hardly are from northern ethnic origins, there have any rains. Mean annual rainfall is 950 mm been a huge influx of the major ethnic while maximum temperature is 45°C in groupings of Ghana including the Akans, March and April with a minimum of 12°C in Ewes, Ga-Dangme into the town because of December. its regional capital status. Most of these ethnic groupings are organized around chiefs and leaders, whiles others come together as social groupings. There are about 213 communities in the municipality.

Bolgatanga Municipality 11 Profile of the District

Table 2.1: Population Size of Bolgatanga Municipality Age range Percent Size 0-15 years; 47.7 70,467 15-65 years 50.8 75,046 65+ years 1.5 2,216 Sex distribution

Male 49.0 72,387 Female 51.0 75,342

Born in the Municipality Urban 69.1 Rural 93.6 Source: MHA, Bolgatanga.

Bolgatanga Municipality 12 Profile of the District

Map 2.2: Topography and Drainage of Bolgatanga Municipality

Bolgatanga Municipality 13 Profile of the District Map 2.3: Population Distribution per Enumeration Area

Bolgatanga Municipality 14 Profile of the District

Based on the 2008 survey results, the Christianity which is predominant in the dominant ethnic group in the municipality is Bolgatanga Municipality. the Grussi and Frafra communities which together constitute about four-fifths (79.5%) Table 2.3: Religious Affiliation of the Inhabitants of Bolgatanga Municipality of the population. Other ethnic groups Religion Upper East Bolgatanga include the Dagarba (3.6%), the Ewes Region (%) Muni. (%) (2.7%), the Akans (2.4%), Guan/Gonja Christian 28.3 49.7 (2.1%), and many others which together also Muslim 22.6 13.2 Traditional 46.4 35.0 constitute about 20 per cent of the population No religion & Others 2.7 2.1 (Table 2.2). Total 100.0 100.0 Source: 2000 Population and Housing Census, GSS, and DAEA Survey, 2008.

Table 2.2: Ethnic Composition of the Bolgatanga Municipality Migration of Household Members Ethnicity Percent Grussi/Frafra 79.5 In terms of migration out of the municipality, Dagarba 3.6 Ewe 2.7 there has been more out-migration from the Akans 2.4 rural areas of the municipality than from the Guan/Gonja 2.1 urban sections during year 2008. Households Bemoba 1.8 were asked during interviews in December Dagomba 1.8 Mamprusi 1.6 2008 whether any of their members had Kusasi 1.2 migrated elsewhere during the last twelve Kassena-Nankani 1.2 months. The responses (Table 2.4) show that Builsa 0.8 more males (75.9%) migrated from rural Sissala 0.5 Ga Dangme 0.3 areas than females (24.1%); and the overall Wala 0.1 out-migration picture for both urban and Other 0.3 rural areas of the municipality shows more Total 100.0 males leaving home (71.7%) than females (28.3%) during the past year. The Religious Affiliation of Inhabitants of the Municipality In the case of in-migration to the municipality, responses from the household The DAEA 2008 survey confirmed Table 2.4: Population of Migrants by Sex that the three main religious groupings Urban Rural Total in the municipality remain Number % Number % Number % Christianity, Islam and Traditional Male 10 52.6 66 75.9 76 71.7 religion, similar to the groupings Female 9 47.4 21 24.1 30 28.3 recorded by the Ghana Statistical Total 19 100.0 87 100.0 106 100.0 Service (GSS) during the 2000 Source: DAEA Survey, 2008. population census. Figures from Table survey indicate that only a few migrants 2.3 show that Christians form the largest entered the municipality each year until the religious grouping in the municipality last two decades (Table 2.5 and Figure 2.1). (49.7%), followed by traditional religion In the decades of 1961–1970, more people (35.0%) and Islam (13.2%). But whereas moved into the rural areas of the traditional religion has been predominant in municipality mainly to pursue farming the Upper East Region as a whole, it is activities; while in 1981–1990 there were

Bolgatanga Municipality 15 Profile of the District more in-migration into the urban sections of into the municipality include to work or to the municipality after Bolgatanga became a farm, to attend school, arrived with a parent regional capital. Since the 1990s, however, and accompanied a spouse. But whereas in-migration to the municipality has been more people came into the urban areas of the relatively high with most respondents who municipality because they accompanied a are migrants indicating that they entered the parent or to work/farm or to attend school or municipality during the last two decades came with a spouse, most migrants into the (1990–2008). This is significant since it rural parts of the municipality came mainly suggests that more opportunities are probably because they accompanied either a spouse or being created in the municipality in recent a parent. years.

Table 2.6: Reasons Why People Move Table 2.5: Distribution of People Who into the Municipality Moved into the Bolgatanga Municipality Reasons for moving Urban Rural Total Period Urban Rural Total To work/farm 25.1 9.5 22.0 1930-1940 0 1.5 0.5 To attend school 18.0 4.8 15.3 1941-1950 0.7 0 0.5 Came with spouse 17.4 40.5 22.0 1951-1960 1.4 0 0.9 Came with parent 35.3 40.5 36.4 1961-1970 2.1 11.6 5.1 Other 4.2 4.7 4.3 1971-1980 3.4 4.3 3.7 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 1981-1990 12.3 7.2 10.7 Source: DAEA Survey, 2008. 1991-2000 40.4 40.6 40.5 2001-2008 39.7 34.8 38.1 Human Settlement Source: DAEA Survey, 2008. With its population of 72,768 Bolgatanga township is the 18th biggest human settlement in the country. There are 3,932, houses in the township with 10,081 households, with an average household size of 4.5.

Spatial Distribution of Settlement

Bolgatanga Township covers a radius of about 3 kilometres, and consists of suburbs such as Figure 2.1: Distribution of People who Moved into the Yikene, Dulugu, Kumbosogo, and Bolgatanga Municipality. Tindonmoligo which are all peri- urban in nature. The municipality has about From Table 2.6, it is noted that the four 182 towns and villages, and the settlement main reasons respondents gave for migrating pattern is predominantly rural (about 95%) with dispersed buildings, which render

Bolgatanga Municipality 16 Profile of the District service location extremely difficult. underlying reasons for the poor approach to Bolgatanga is the only urban settlement in development in the township are: the Upper East region with a population of more than 72,000 people. 1. Lack of awareness on the part of developers and the general public of Physical Development of Settlements land acquisition and permitting procedures to cover physical The core area of Bolgatanga and a few peri- developments; urban locations like Kumbosogo, Yikene, 2. Poor landscaping in Bolgatanga Tindonsolbgo Zorbisi and Zuarungu have Township especially along the main layout schemes to guide their physical arterial roads, namely: Bolgatanga- growth. However, peripheral sectors like Tamale and Bolgatanga-Navrongo dual Yorogo, Zaare, and Damweo which have carriageways which are the main been caught up with physical development ceremonial roads in the township, and due to factors such as suitable terrain, 3. Inadequate staffing situation of the accessibility by roads and proximity to water Physical Planning Department in the and electricity points have no layout schemes municipality. to steer their growth. Housing Conditions and Selected In general, the control of physical Household Characteristics development has been poor in the Bolgatanga township. This could be attributed to a The housing situation in the municipality is number of factors, which include: generally poor, and shows a mix of modern and traditional structures. Most of the 1. Inherent weaknesses in the procedure modern buildings found in Bolgatanga of obtaining a permit for development, township are either public or private office 2. Unco-operative attitude of landowners accommodation, and few of these are for and developers to observe existing rules commercial purposes. Most buildings in the and regulations, and urban sections of the municipality are made 3. General ignorance on the development of sandcrete and have plastered walls, which procedures in the township. are well maintained and roofed with

corrugated aluminum sheets. However, This has resulted in an increase in several sections of downtown Bolgatanga unauthorized development in some areas, have developed into slum areas, usually such as building across water courses and in referred to as zongos where most of the various low lying areas, as well as vulnerable people live. These zongos lack encroachment on road reservations, school drainage systems and toilet facilities, a sites, spaces reserved for community situation that has serious implications for facilities and public utilities etc. Such sanitation and health conditions of the activities have contributed significantly to municipality, particularly the breeding of the deterioration of the physical environment. mosquitoes and the incidence of malaria There has also been a proliferation of among community members. In the rural unauthorized temporary structures, sectors of the municipality, most houses are particularly in the central area of Bolgatanga of the traditional type, some roofed with township where kiosks abound. Some of the reinforced grass and others with corrugated aluminum sheets.

Bolgatanga Municipality 17 Profile of the District

Table 2.7: Household Characteristics of for cooking and lighting, and sources of the Bolgatanga Municipality drinking water (Table 2.7). Many households Characteristics Urban Rural (about a quarter to a third) in the Bolgatanga Solid waste Municipality burn their household waste; but Collected by refuse agency 16.4 – whereas about 40 per cent of those in the Burned by household 23.0 34.8 Public provided dump 40.2 – urban sections of the municipality use public Dumped elsewhere 15.6 52.2 provided dumps, more than 50 per cent of Buried by household 4.9 10.4 those in the rural areas of the municipality Other – 2.6 Toilet Facility dump their solid waste elsewhere in the None/bush 23.8 83.2 locality. Flush toilet 23.8 7.1 Covered pit latrine 6.6 1.8 Such individual dumping could pose Uncovered pit latrine 1.6 0.9 KVIP 44.3 – serious sanitation problems for the Other – 7.1 municipality. Also, most people living in the Fuel for cooking rural areas of the municipality have no toilet Fuelwood 12.3 84.2 facilities (83.2%) and tend to use the Charcoal 68.9 14.0 Electricity 0.8 – surrounding bush for such purposes; and Crop residue/saw dust 2.5 0.9 even in the urban communities only 23.8 per Gas 13.9 0.9 cent of the households have flush toilets Other 1.6 – because many of them use KVIP toilets Fuel for lighting Kerosene/oil/sheabutter 16.4 84.3 (44.3%). Gas 1.6 1.7 Electricity 79.5 11.3 The use of fuelwood predominates in Battery 1.6 – the rural sections of the municipality Candle – 1.7 (84.2%), while most of the people in the Other 0.8 0.9 Source of drinking water urban sections (68.9%) use charcoal. Inside taps in dwelling or 33.6 1.7 Similarly, most dwellers in the rural areas of compound the municipality (74.1%) depend on Public outdoor tap 34.4 2.6 Borehole 19.7 74.1 boreholes for potable water (Picture 2.2), Protected/Covered well 4.9 7.8 while most urban dwellers (68%) use pipe- Uncovered well 0.8 12.9 borne water either in their homes or from River/pond/lake – 0.9 Purchased treated water - 6.6 – public stand taps. Particularly in the case of tanker, bucket, barrels, potable water, it should be noted that most of sachet the existing water bodies dry up during the Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. dry season; and bore holes and wells virtually become non-functional as the water Household characteristics differ across table usually falls beyond sustainable levels. urban and rural sectors in the municipality, These differences underscore the levels of particularly in terms of how solid waste is development across the urban and rural handled, availability of toilet facilities, fuel sectors of the municipality.

Road Infrastructure and Access to Public Services in the Municipality

Bolgatanga Municipality 18

Picture 2.2: A Borehole Constructed in the Municipality. Profile of the District

The Bolgatanga municipality has a network Table 2.8: Trunk Roads in the Bolgatanga of roads made up of all-weather good roads Municipality (see Picture 2.3) and untarred and dusty No. Strectch 'A" Kms Surface Condition roads, especially those that lead into the suburbs. The Bolgatanga township itself has Bolgatanga- 1 2 Asphalted Good about 17.4 kms of roads, which include BOST sections of the Bolgatanga-Tamale and Bolgatanga- Bolgatanga-Bawku roads. Most of the 2 29 Tarred Good commercial and other roads and streets in the Red Volta town centre and suburbs have no proper Bolgatanga- 3 15 Asphalted Good drains or the drains are choked, where they Tankwidi exist, are rather narrow, and also lack parking spaces and road signs.

Picture 2.3: A Section of a Good Road Leading to the Municipality.

Roads in the suburbs such as Pobaga, Bolga- 4 5 Tarred Good Estates, SSNIT Workers’ Flats and parts of Yorogo the Soe residential area are in bad condition most of the year. The need for continual Source: GHA/MPCU. maintenance of sections of the road network in the municipality should engage the attention of the municipal authorities all the Access to key public services in the time. Tables 2.8, 2.9 and 2.10 provide Bolgatanga Municipality such as food information on the types and conditions of markets, transportation facilities, police roads in the municipality. stations, post offices, telecommunication facilities, financial institutions and hospital/ clinic are generally relatively easier and

quicker for the urban dwellers than for those living in the rural sections (Table 2.11). For

Bolgatanga Municipality 19 Profile of the District

Table 2.10: Non-engineered Roads in the Nyariga junction- 4.0 Good Bolgatanga Municipality Nyariga Nyariga-Donne 3.5 Good Road Name Length (km) Condition Kalbeo market-Forest 10.0 Good Sherigu-Naga 21.5 Fair reserve Moshie-Dubila 5.0 Good Benkute-Katanga-Azitua 5.0 Good Sumbrugu-Arizobisi 4.5 Good Source: Department of Feeder Roads, Bolgatanga. Zuarungu-Nyonkoko 8.4 Poor Table 2.11: Access to Public Services in Kebisi-Yebongo 7.2 Poor Bolgatanga Municipality Boglingo-Sapio 3.2 Poor Facility Urban Rural Total Sherigu-Akudoni 3.2 Poor Food market 0–14 minutes 32.2 2.2 14.7 Sherigu Mkt-Kunkua 5.6 Poor 15–29 minutes 27.1 22.2 24.1 Kunkua-Kologu 12.6 Poor 30–44 minutes 28.1 16.2 21.1 Zorbisi-Yikine 6.8 Poor 45–59 minutes 7.3 18.4 13.8 60+ minutes 5.2 41.2 26.3 Akundoni-Nyonkoko 10.0 Poor Public transport Agrobisi-Akundoni 1.8 Poor 0–14 minutes 33.0 23.0 25.6 Sherigu-Yebongo 6.7 Poor 15–29 minutes 36.2 19.3 24.7 Source: Department of Feeder Roads, Bolgatanga. 30–44 minutes 20.2 27.4 17.2 45–59 minutes 6.4 14.8 12.3 example, whereas it takes an average of 30 60+ minutes 4.3 15.6 20.3 minutes or less for more than 50 per cent of Post office 0–14 minutes 17.2 1.5 8.0 those in the urban areas of the municipality 15–29 minutes 31.2 7.5 17.3 to reach a food market or a police station or 30–44 minutes 30.1 25.6 27.4 have access to a telecommunication facility, 45–59 minutes 15.1 15.8 15.5 60+ minutes 6.5 49.7 31.8 the equivalent time for more than 50 per cent Police station of those in the rural areas of the municipality 0–14 minutes 18.3 3.0 9.2 15–29 minutes 41.9 8.9 22.4 to reach such facilities is in excess of 45 30–44 minutes 24.7 33.3 29.8 minutes and sometimes one hour or more. 45–59 minutes 11.8 17.0 14.9 60+ minutes 3.2 37.7 23.6 Telecommunication facility Table 2.9: Engineered Roads in the 0–14 minutes 33.0 7.8 18.0 Bolgatanga Municipality 15–29 minutes 30.7 6.2 16.1 30–44 minutes 17.0 27.1 23.0 Name Length Condition 45–59 minutes 15.9 20.9 18.9 Bolgatanga-Sherigu 10.0 Good 60+ minutes 3.4 38.0 24.0 Airstrip unction— 3.3 Good Financial institution Airstrip 0–14 minutes 22.2 3.7 11.2 15–29 minutes 35.6 6.0 17.9 Sumbrugu—Zokko 14.0 Good 30–44 minutes 22.2 25.4 24.1 Zuarungu— Dakeo 13.2 Good 45–59 minutes 14.4 17.9 16.5 Zuarungu-Kantia 2.0 Good 60+ minutes 5.6 47.0 30.4 Nyariga-Zokko 11.0 Good Clinic or hospital Sokabisi-Nyokor 7.0 Fair 0–14 minutes 12.9 4.3 7.8 Zuarungu-Kpatia 6.0 Good 15–29 minutes 30.1 10.1 18.2 30–44 minutes 23.7 26.8 25.5 Zuarungu-Moshie 7.9 Good 45–59 minutes 18.3 26.8 23.4 Zuarungu-Kazanga 4.4 Good 60+ minutes 15.1 31.9 25.1 Sumbrugu-Yebongo 6.0 Good Source: DAEA Survey, 2008. Kulbia junction-Kulbia 5.0 Good Kulbia-Dazongo 3.5 Good Sumbrugu-Nyariga 6.1 Fair

Bolgatanga Municipality 20 Profile of the District Governance — State and 7. Environmental, Water and Sanitation Traditional Sub-Committee 8. Health Sub-Committee The Bolgatanga Municipality has both state 9. Education Sub-Committee and traditional systems of administration – 10. Women and Children Sub-Committee the state governance system consists of the Municipal Assembly and other public There is also the Public Relation and institutions such as the police, the Ghana Complaints Committee chaired by the Education Service (GES), etc, while the Presiding Member of the Municipal traditional system is made up of chiefs and Assembly and answerable directly to the their skins mainly, and other allied leadership Assembly. The Assembly also has substructures such as the Tindana (or land structures, namely: one Urban Council at owner). Bolgatanga and two zonal councils — the Zuarungu and Sumbrungu-Sherigu zonal State Authority councils. These substructures are, however, The Municipal Assembly, which constitutes yet to have their full complement of staff, a situation which is seriously affecting the administrative arm of the municipality, effective decentralization in the municipality. was established by the same legal instrument The development and implementation of that established the municipality. Member- development plans for the municipality are ship of the Assembly includes both elected the responsibility of the assembly, and and appointed members such as the require the active involvement and full co- Municipal Chief Executive and one member operation of all the institutions in the of Parliament who has no voting rights. It is municipality, among which are the the highest political and administrative Decentralized Departments, parastatals, authority in the municipality. Regional and Line Agencies, Non- Government Organizations (NGOs), private individuals and the communities.

The State’s Administrative Structure The Municipal Assembly has an Executive The Bolgatanga Municipal Committee which consists of twenty-seven Assembly (BMA) (27) members, with the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) as the head of The BMA is the main facilitator of administration. The Executive Committee development, as well as the main actor in the has the following sub-committees, the first implementation of the plans of the Munici- five being statutory and the rest created by pality. The key facilitating roles played by the Municipal Assembly itself. the Assembly include: 1. Finance and Administration Sub- 1. Creating a conducive atmosphere in Committee terms of administrative strengthening 2. Works Sub-Committee and capacity building for effective 3. Development Planning Sub-Committee implementation of the plans; 4. Justice and Security Sub-Committee 2. Initiating (through the communities), 5. Social Services Sub-Committee coordinating (through its Municipal 6. Agriculture Sub-Committee

Bolgatanga Municipality 21 Profile of the District

Planning and coordinating units) and integrating the implementation of development plans, as well as make appropriate terms of reference for projects; 3. Showing firm commitment to the implementation of projects that require funding from the Assembly’s coffers through monitoring and evaluation; 4. Soliciting for funding from sources (both local or external) for the implementation of projects; 5. Carrying out monitoring and timely Figure 2.2: Expenditure Analysis of Bolgatanga Municipal evaluation of the impact of the plans Assembly (2005–2007). and projects.

The three traditional sources of income for the municipality include:

1. Internally generated/local income sources, 2. Central government support, mainly through the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF), and 3. Support from development partners (i.e. donor support). Picture 2.4: New Market Stalls in Bolgatanga.

The internally generated/local income sources mainly come from basic rates, lands The beneficiary communities of the fees and fines, licenses/permits, rents from development projects play an important role Assembly properties, and investment income. in project implementation. They may contribute financially, or in kind such as in The expenditure analysis of the the form of labour or materials for project Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly over the implementation. Individuals, even though recent past indicates that the bulk of its most often disregarded, sometimes contribute resources (over 60%) were spent on social to development as private sector operatives. services between 2005 and 2007, followed They can take up projects particularly those by administrative expenses (over 25%), and related to income generation, social services economic services (between 8 and 15%) as and distribution of goods and services. For example, a market has recently been shown in Figure 2.2. Market stalls recently developed for the Handicraft sub-sector in constructed in the municipality is shown in the township (the Bolgatanga Craft Village) Picture 2.4. which is mainly private sector operated (see Picture 2.5).

Bolgatanga Municipality 22 Profile of the District

Picture 2.5: The Bolgatanga Craft Village. Communities in the municipality Ill or injured 3.7 12.0 7.7 generally participate in decision making both Other 10.8 - 5.5 at the national and municipal levels, Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 National Election: Urban Rural Total including general national elections and Reasons municipal level elections. However, several Not registered to vote 15.8 13.3 14.4 individuals are unable to participate in such Not eligible to vote 71.9 69.3 70.5 elections for various reasons both in the Not in the country 1.8 - 0.8 Do not care to vote 3.5 10.7 7.6 urban and rural sections of the municipality Ill or injured 1.8 6.7 4.5 (Table 2.12). For both the urban and rural Other 5.2 - 2.2 dwellers in the municipality, ineligibility to Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 vote was the most important reason why Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. community members did not participate in Traditional Authority both the national and municipal elections, followed by either the respondent’s failure to The municipality has one main paramouncy, register or indifference to the voting process. the Bolgatanga Paramount Chief and one Much effort is therefore required on the part Traditional Council, the Frafra Traditional of the municipal authorities in terms of civic Council. Each village or town also has a education and awareness creation to ensure chief who wields traditional authority. In that more community members get involved addition to the chief in the village or town, in the decision making processes in the there is the Tindana who is the custodian of municipality. the sacred traditions as well as the administrator of the ancestral lands, which he holds in trust for the people. Table 2.12: Reasons for not Voting in the Municipality and National Elections Municipality Urban Rural Total Election: Reasons Not registered to vote 15.9 16.0 15.9 Not eligible to vote 43.9 52.0 48.4 Not in the country 3.7 5.0 4.4 Do not care to vote 22.0 15.0 18.1

Bolgatanga Municipality 23 Economic Activity and Poverty

CHAPTER 3

Economic Activity and Poverty

Introduction The economy of the Bolgatanga Municipality is predominantly agrarian, with agriculture (including forestry) accounting for more than The three regions in northern Ghana, namely: 30 per cent of the economic activities in Northern Region, Upper East Region and which the working population in the Upper West Region, together with Central municipality are engaged. The GSS Region in the south, are generally regarded Population and Housing Census of 2000 as the poorest in the country. Issues (Figure 3.1) indicates that the major types of concerning economic activities and poverty industry in the municipality include agricul- are, therefore, important for the Bolgatanga ture/hunting/forestry (51.6%), followed by Municipality in terms of assessing how it has manufacturing (18%), and wholesale and fared over time in trying to improve its retail trade (10.8%). All other economic economy and reduce poverty. However, there activities accounted for about 19.6 per cent is general lack of information at the of all the economic activities in the municipal level which makes direct municipality. The pattern in which economic assessment of the progress made by the activities have been organized in the municipality towards poverty reduction municipality seemed to have changed difficult. This report, therefore, analyzes the significantly between 2000 and 2008, based general changes in the structure of economic on the results obtained from the DAEA activities and changes in other indirect household survey. The major industry of indicators of poverty using information employment in the municipality in 2008 mainly drawn from the 2000 Population and include agriculture (31%), wholesale/retail Housing Census and the household survey trade (24%), community/social services conducted by DAEA in the municipality in (14%), finance/ insurance/services (13%), 2008 to examine the issues of poverty. This construction (6%) and manufacturing (5%). is useful to provide some basis of discussing progress towards the first of the Millennium All other economic activities including Development Goals (MDGs), which is to transport/storage/communications, mining eradicate poverty and hunger by reducing by and quarrying, etc, accounted for about 7 per one-half the proportion of people whose cent of the major sectors in which the income is less than one dollar a day and also economically active population in the to reduce by one-half the proportion of municipality are engaged. The dominant role people who suffer from hunger, within the of agriculture has declined from over 50 per period 1990 and 2015. cent of the economic activities to a little over 30 per cent between 2000 and 2008 (Figure Major Economic Activities 3.2). Manufacturing also as a major

Bolgatanga Municipality 23 Economic Activity and Poverty economic activity declined from 18 per cent little over 10 per cent in 2000 to 24 per cent to only 5 per cent during the period, while in 2008. wholesale and retail trade increased from a

51.6 60 50 40 18 19.6 30 10.8 20 10 0 All Others All orestry Retail trade Retail Wholesale and Wholesale Manufacturing Agric./hunting/f Figure 3.1: Major types of industry of the economically active population (aged 15 years and over). Source: GSS, Population and Housing Census, 2000.

Figure 3.2: Major Industry of Employment for Population 15 Years and Above in 2008. Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008.

Bolgatanga Municipality 26 Economic Activity and Poverty

This implies that many of the manufacturing activities in the municipality have been lost during the period, while more people have entered into wholesale and retail trade. In addition, more economic activities have become very important in the municipality, such as community/ social services and finance/ insurance/services, which suggest that the municipality has become more commercialized between Figure 3.3: Main occupation (%) of the economically active 2000 and 2008. population (aged 15 years and older). Source: GSS Population and Housing Census, 2000. From Figure 3.3, it is observed that the main occupation of about half of the economically active population 15 years and older in 2000 was in agriculture (including crops, animals, fishing and hunting). This was followed by those engaged in other types of production besides agriculture/ transport operators and labourers (24.8%), those engaged in sales work (10.6%), those in services (5.7%), professional/technical work (4.3%), etc. In 2008, private informal occupation (including agriculture) accounted for about 59 per cent of all the economic activities in which the economically active population aged 15 years and older are engaged (Figure 3.4). Public service activities represented 29 per cent of all economic activities; while private formal economic activities accounted for 11 per cent of economic activities.

International organizations and NGOs accounted for only one per cent of the main economic activities in the municipality in 2008. Even though the re-classi-fication of the main economic

Figure 3.4: Main Sector of Employment for Population 15 Years and Above in 2008. Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008.

Bolgatanga Municipality 24 Economic Activity and Poverty activities in the municipality between 2000 and 2008 makes it difficult to compare the two periods directly, it can be inferred from the available data that agriculture and related activities continue to dominate economic activities in the municipality.

In terms of the employment status of the economically active population 15 years and above, who are self- Figure 3.5: Economically Active Population (aged 15 years and above) by Employment Status (%). employed without employees Source: GSS Population and Housing Census, 2000. continue to dominate economic activities. The share of this category of economic operators in the municipality was 74.1 per cent in 2000, but declined to 48 per cent in 2008 (see Figures 3.5 and 3.6). Regular employees represented 10.9 per cent in 2000, but this more than doubled to 24 per cent in 2008. Similarly, people who were self-employed with employees were only 2.9 per cent in 2000, but increased Figure 3.6: Employment Status for Population 15 Years and Above about three-fold to 10 per cent in 2008. in 2008. On the other hand, Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. the proportion of unpaid family workers declined from 9.1 per cent in 2000 to 3 per cent in 2008. Thus, over the period, more and more people in the municipality have entered the formal economy of the municipality. Also, those in apprenticeship increased from only 1.3 per cent of the economically active population in 2000 to 4 per cent in 2008, indicating that more avenues have been opened for human resource development in the informal sector of the municipality.

Bolgatanga Municipality 25 Economic Activity and Poverty

Table 3.1: A Summary of the Key Economic Activities in the Bolgatanga Municipality Between 2003 and 2008

Year Economic Activities Level Employment Opportunities

2003-2008 Agric (crop) Subsistence 69% of total population (79,719 (2000 pop census) )

Agric (Livestock) Free range All farmers

Industries(Factories, metal Formal/informal 12% of labour force — 14,717 (2000 fabrication, welders sprayers pop census) electricians vulcanizes auto- Mobile Handicrafts etc) Hairdressing, dressmaking, etc.

Agro-processing Small-scale Employs mainly women

 Oil extraction

 Dawadawa

 Riceparboiling

 Rice milling

 Pito brewing, etc.

Trading Wholesale/Retail 19% of labour force — 23,303 (2000 Petty trading-3- pop census)  Imported goods day cycle market  Finished domestic goods  Petroleum products  Handicrafts including straw  Building materials  Foodstuff  Animals, birds, etc. Transport services Commercial Employs quite a small number of citizens and non-citizens

Tourism (Hospitality) Small-scale Employs a good number of citizens in the district

Banking/Financial services Small-scale Employs quite a good number of people in the municipality

Source: Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly. hands. These developments seem to suggest that the municipality is gradually becoming In addition, there was an increase in the more commercialized, a situation which also domestic worker population in the reflects the municipal status of the area as municipality, from less than 1 per cent in both the Upper East regional capital and a 2000 to 4 per cent in 2008, reflecting municipality. Table 3.1 presents a summary of increased economic activity of households the key economic activities in the Bolgatanga which, therefore, required more domestic Municipality between 2003 and 2008.

Bolgatanga Municipality 26 Economic Activity and Poverty

Employment Opportunities of the areas the municipality has emphasized. Since agriculture and its related activities At the national level, the country’s MTDPs constitute the largest sector of the economy, a have emphasized employment as one of the review of its performance in the recent past key developmental targets, and seek to pursue provides some indication of the employment employment-centred development strategy. opportunities available in the municipality. This focus on employment has also been one

Bolgatanga Municipality 27 Economic Activity and Poverty

The Agricultural Sector

As already noted, agriculture and its related activities (e.g. agro-processing) are the mainstay of the economy of the Bolgatanga Municipa- lity. The municipality has a total land area of 729 km2 of which 70 per cent (about 51,030 ha) is under cultivation. Rain-fed agriculture is the most predominant activity, making agricultural Figure 3.7: Production of Major Food Crops in the Bolgatanga output erratic and following Municipality. the incidence of rainfall Source: MoFA, Bolgatanga Municipality. from year to year. It is estimated that eight per cent of the population are peasant farmers who have average land holdings of between 1.0 and 3.0 ha; and there are about 14,145 agricultural households in the municipality. There are also a few dams and dugouts including the Vea dam which support dry season farming. Figure

Figure 3.8: Price of Sorghum in the Bolgatanga Municipality (2001– 3.7 presents the major crops 2008). produced in the muni- Source: MoFA, Bolgatanga Municipality. cipality, which include sorghum, groundnuts, millet, rice, maize, tomato and onion. The outputs of all these crops have followed the rainfall pattern such that all the crops recorded low outputs in year 2005 as a result of poor rainfall, and high outputs the following year 2006 when there was good rainfall.

Prices of food commo- dities in the municipality Figure 3.9: Price of Rice (local) in the Bolgatanga Municipality (2001–2008). have generally followed the Source: MoFA, Bolgatanga Municipality. pattern of output from year

Bolgatanga Municipality 28 Economic Activity and Poverty to year, so that years of good rainfall alone contributes about 637.5 ha of land for generally show lower food prices as irrigated farming, while the other seven compared with years of bad rainfall and, small-scale dams provide a total irrigable therefore, bad harvests when food prices area of about 78 ha. In addition, there exists generally rise. Figures 3.8 to 3.10 present potential of about 500 ha for water pump prices for sorghum, rice (local) and ground- irrigation along the banks of the White Volta nuts for the period 2001 to 2008, which from which many farmers are already benefiting. demonstrate that high food prices follow low output of food in the municipality. For Livestock, Poultry and Fisheries example, the food prices were highest for all food crops in 2008 (output figures not Livestock (including poultry) production is available) when rainfall was bad, and for the second most important agricultural 2005 which also experienced low rainfall activity in the Bolgatanga municipality. and, therefore, low harvests of food crops. Almost all farmers are engaged in the rearing The stability of food production and food of at least one type of livestock and poultry. prices in the municipality, therefore, requires Livestock constitutes a major asset for the a shift away from rain-fed agriculture. farmers, and apart from supplying their protein needs, it is also a very important source of income for farmers and also serves as insurance for the farmers against crop failure. Most farmers normally keep their livestock and poultry on free range, which implies that they follow a low-input system which makes their productivity very low. However, in the case of pigs a number of farmers engaged in rearing them practice small-scale intensive system, particularly in the Bolgatanga Township. As

Figure 3.10: Price of Groundnuts in the Bolgatanga Municipality shown in Figure 3.11, poultry, (2001–2008). small ruminants (sheep and Source: MoFA, Bolgatanga Municipality goats), cattle and pigs are the

Dry Season Farming

Dry season farming plays a significant role in the agricultural production activities of the municipality. As already indicated, the Vea Irrigation Project and a number of small dams and dugouts located in the municipal- lity facilitate dry season farming. For example, the irrigation dams provide a total of about 815.5 ha for irrigated farming during the dry periods; the Vea project Figure 3.11: Livestock Production in the Bolgatanga Municipality. Source: MoFA, Bolgatanga Municipality (Note: 2005 data not available) Bolgatanga Municipality 29 Economic Activity and Poverty most important livestock in the municipality; conditions; and and similar to the crops, their production is  Underdeveloped access roads to food also greatly influenced by the rainfall pattern producing areas. since they are reared on free range. The most common activity in the case of Unemployment and Under- fishing in the municipality is fish hunting, employment which is carried out in the few water bodies scattered throughout the municipality. Unemployment and under-employment seem Acquaculture is not very common. In to be serious issues in the Bolgatanga general, women mostly do fish processing Municipality. From Figure 3.12, it is and sell in the market. observed that over 68 per cent of the respondents did not do any type of work that Several constraints face the agricultural brought in income either cash or in kind. sector in the municipality, which have been Only about 32 per cent of the respondents identified by the Municipal Assembly as indicated that they were gainfully employed. follows: Similarly, only 13.5 per cent were either  Short and erratic rainfall pattern marred looking for work or ready for work during by dry spells and peak seasonal floods; the period of the DAEA Household Survey  Inadequate feed and water for the animals in 2008 in the municipality (Figure 3.13), during the long dry season which cause while 86.5 per cent said no to looking for loss of weight and poor reproductive performance of females;  Prevalence of pests and diseases of both crops and livestock;  No improved housing and inadequacy of improved breeding stock of livestock;  Livestock rearing is not seen as a business; Figure 3.12: Rates of Under-employment and Unemployment.  Declining low soil fertility Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. levels of the existing nutrient-deficient soils;  Fish farming is a new concept to farmers;  Inadequate water bodies in the municipality. Most of the existing water bodies dry up during the long dry season;  Bush burning and indiscriminate cutting of trees;  The seasonal migration of the youth from the rural Figure 3.13: People Looking for Work and those Ready for Work in areas to the urban areas; the Bolgatanga Municipality.  Unfavourable market Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008.

Bolgatanga Municipality 30 Economic Activity and Poverty work or being ready for work. only a very small proportion of the children aged 12 years (0.8%) and 14 years (0.4%) In terms of children aged 7 to 14 years indicated that they were engaged in any form engaged in normal routine work, the of child work in the municipality. This is a evidence from the DAEA Household survey good development for the municipality since of 2008 in the Bolgatanga Municipality children are not expected to be working at suggests that the incidence is very low or that age but rather be in school, and every non-existent. As indicated in Figure 3.14, effort should be made to completely eradicate even the small incidence that has been observed among these relatively older children in that category. The DAEA Household Survey, 2008 also revealed a number of problems faced by the working population in the municipality (Table 3.2).

Figure 3.14: Proportion of Working Children within the Age Category 7– 14 years. Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008.

Table 3.2: Problems Faced by Working Population with Regards to Work, 2008 Sector

Finance access toDifficult land weather Erratic conditions Uncertain demand output for Poor health inputs cost High of (e.g. fuel) in Difficulty products marketing Other Agriculture 22.3 1.2 3.0 0.6 1.2 0.6 1.2 – Mining & Quarrying 0.3 – – 0.6 – – – – Manufacturing 4.9 – – 0.3 – – 0.3 Construction 3.4 – 1.8 – – – – 0.3 Transport/Storage/Communication 2.1 – – – 0.6 – – 0.3 Finance/Insurance/Services 7.9 0.3 0.6 0.6 0.9 0.6 0.3 1.8 Utilities 1.5 – – – – – – – Wholesale/Retail trade 22.3 0.3 – – – 0.9 1.8 – Community/Social Services 8.8 – 0.6 0.6 0.3 1.5 – 0.6 Other 1.5 – – – – – – 0.9 Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. Lack of finance or inadequate finance facturing, etc. This suggests that resourcing seems to be the most important challenge that workers in the municipality by making more most workers face in the municipality, which credit available can help improve the was identified by all categories of workers activities of all categories of workers in the including those in agriculture, municipality. wholesale/retailing, finance/insurance, manu-

Bolgatanga Municipality 31 Economic Activity and Poverty Poverty is higher compared to those who considered themselves as poor in both the Upper East The first Millennium Development Goal Region (54.2%) and Ghana (37.1%) as a (MDG) is to eradicate extreme poverty and whole. We used the level of happiness of hunger by 2015. The poverty situation in the households to capture their perception of Bolgatanga Municipality is described by poverty (as captured in Table 3.5). The empirical evidence reveals that although some human poverty index (HPI) dimensions about 68.9 per cent of households in 2003 in Table 3.3, together with other graphs based considered themselves to be either poor or on the Ghana Core Welfare Indicators very poor, poverty did not adversely affect Questionnaire (CWIQ) used in the 2003 the happiness of most of the population since survey by the Ghana Statistical Service over 54.2 per cent claimed to be very happy (GSS). or quite happy.

Table 3.3: Poverty Indicators, 2003: Table 3.4: Household Perception about National versus Bolgatanga Municipality Poverty of Household (%), 2003 Indicators National Bolgatanga Ghana U East Bolgatan Municipality Region ga Muni. Human Poverty Index Non-Poor 2.9 1.2 1.5 Somewhat non- 7.0 7.7 5.2 All 41.8 poor – Rural Neither poor nor 43.2 19.4 24.4 Urban – non-poor % Adult Literacy Poor 37.1 54.2 57.0 All 53.7 28.8 Very Poor 9.7 17.3 11.9 Male 66.2 36.1 Source: 2003 CWIQ (GSS). Female 42.5 21.6 % Without access to health services Besides, several households both in the All 42.4 urban and rural parts of the Bolgatanga Rural 57.7 Municipality report that they experience food 21.5 Urban shortages during certain periods of the year, % without access to safe water particularly in the dry season. (For details All 25.9 18.9 refer to Figure 3.15). For example, based on Rural 37.0 the DAEA Household Survey, 2008, over 60 Urban 12.7 per cent of the population in the municipality Source: CWIQ 2003 report that they suffer food shortages during

certain periods of the year, both in the urban Adult literacy in the municipality, for and rural sections. Whereas a little less than example, is only about half of the national average, but the proportion of the population 40 per cent says they do not suffer from food without safe water is lower for the shortages during the year. municipality than for the country as a whole. However, the key reasons for such food Subjectively, poverty (based on the shortages differ for the urban and rural value judgment on the part of respondents in sectors of the municipality. For details refer 2003) is summarized in Tables 3.4 and 3.5. In to Table 3.6. For example, whereas most Table 3.4 for example, most households urban dwellers blame the food shortages they considered themselves poor (57.0%), and this experience on high food prices (73.9%), most

Bolgatanga Municipality 32 Economic Activity and Poverty rural Table 3.5: Household Perception of their Economic Situation, consume, households most rural in the 2003 (%) people municipalit Location grow their Variable Response Ghana Upper Bolga y blame East Muni. own food. the food Household Very happy 15.2 23.5 28.6 The level shortages perception of Quite happy 44.6 33.9 25.6 of food wellbeing (Level of on rainfall Not very happy 30.7 34.9 36.7 shortages happiness) Not at all happy 9.4 7.8 6.8 failure Financial situation Very satisfied 1.7 1.1 0.9 during leading to of Household Satisfied 12.4 8.7 9.7 some poor Somewhat satisfied 27.2 21.4 20.5 periods of harvest Somewhat dissatisfied 35.9 39.6 50.6 the year is Very dissatisfied 22.9 29.2 18.3 (67.5%). Overall economic Much worse now 18.2 15.8 10.3 also an This situation of A little worse now 33.3 30.1 34.6 indication dichotomy household against Same 21.2 27.9 30.1 of the level between previous year A little better now 25.0 24.2 19.1 of Much Better now 2.0 1.9 5.4 the urban Don’t know 0.4 0.2 0.4 vulnerabili and rural Overall economic Much worse now 15.6 13.1 7.7 ty of some population situation of A little worse now 27.9 23.9 32.3 sections of s reflects community against Same 24.9 34.6 31.1 the previous year A little better now 18.5 19.7 16.4 their main municipalit Much better now 1.7 1.5 4.2 sources of Don’t know 11.5 7.1 8.3 y. food. Source: 2003 CWIQ (GSS). Whereas most urban dwellers purchase the food they

Figure 3.15: Households that Suffer from Severe Food Shortages During the Year. Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008.

Bolgatanga Municipality 33 Economic Activity and Poverty Table 3.6: Reasons for Food Shortage by Household Reasons Urban Rural Total An Income earning member of the household died 4.3 2.4 2.9 Additional member joined the household – 1.6 1.2 An Income earning member of household lost job 2.2 1.6 1.7 An income earning member of household no longer working 4.3 – 1.2 Remittances no longer received 2.2 1.6 1.7 Reduction in remittances received – 3.2 2.3 Poor harvest (pest/disease) – 11.1 8.1 Poor harvest (climatic conditions, e.g. drought ) 13.1 67.5 52.9 Food prices became too high 73.9 10.3 27.3 Other – 0.7 0.7 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008.

Bolgatanga Municipality 33 Education and Literacy

CHAPTER 4

Education and Literacy

Introduction South-East, Bolga West, Zuarungu East, and Zuarungu West, each of which is administered by a well-trained supervisor. Education of the population to ensure the Also, there exists at the municipal directorate development of the human resource of the municipality has been high on the agenda. and school levels, several educational This is in part to respond to some of the structures to assist in the management, teaching, supervision and sensitization of expectations of the Millennium Development communities, including: Goals (MDGs), of which two out of the eight are education-specific. For example, the 1. Municipal Education Oversight Com- second MDG is the attainment of universal mittee (MEOC) primary education; while the third goal is the 2. School Management Committee (SMC) promotion of gender equality and the 3. Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) empowerment of women. The targets under 4. Municipal Teacher Support Team these goals are the elimination of gender (DTST) disparity in primary and secondary education 5. Municipal Education Planning Team by 2005, and at all levels no later than 2015. Also, two of the indicators to monitor progress made towards attaining the third MDG are education-specific and thus highlight the importance of education as a means of empowering women.

The Bolgatanga Municipa- lity has taken far-reaching measures to ensure that education, both the process and Picture 4.1: A Basic School Facility Recently Constructed in infrastructure, are greatly impro- the Municipality. ved. One way to achieve this is to (DEPT) ensure that both effective administration and 6. Information, Education and Commu- supervision become the cornerstone of the nication (IEC) Team. educational system. The municipality has, therefore, been divided into eight (8) circuits, namely: Bolga Central, Bolga North-East, The Municipal Education Oversight Bolga North-West, Bolga South-West, Bolga Committee (MEOC) is the highest

Bolgatanga Municipality 34 Education and Literacy administrative and policy- making body, which is chaired by the Municipal Chief Executive. Picture 4.1 depicts some of the basic school facilities that exist in the municipality: Even though some schools are well endowed with both facilities and staff (see Picture 4.2), in general most basic schools are poorly staffed and there exists a number of untrained teachers especially in Figure 4.1: Educational Attainment of Population Aged 6 years the rural areas. As a result, and Older (%) — 2000. Source: GSS Population and Housing Census 2000. quality and effective teaching with greater knowledge and use of sound are adversely affected by a high pupil-teacher health practices and family planning ratio (PTR). Also, the infrastructure and methods. Successive governments in Ghana, therefore, introduced various policies aimed at reducing illiteracy among the population to the barest minimum. For example, the current programme of Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) is being implemented with the aim of guaranteeing free education to all children of school going age, Picture 4.2: Modern Girls Dormitory at the Bolgatanga Senior irrespective of sex, religion or High School. ethnicity. facilities in the schools are of varied types, ranging from sandcrete block buildings to Based on the GSS Population and sheds; while in a few cases classes are held Housing Census of 2000, almost half of the under trees. population of the municipality (47.7%) had attained only primary school education in 2000 (Figure 4.1), and those who had Educational Attainment attained JSS or middle school education were about a quarter of the population (24.5%). The high correlation between levels of About 2 per cent of the population was in education and positive health and other social pre-school, about a fifth (21.6%) had attained indicators has been generally acknowledged, secondary school education and some and makes education a very important education from a training institution, and variable in any development planning at the only 4.2 per cent of the population had municipal or district level. Higher education, attained any tertiary education. This picture especially of women, is usually associated seemed to have changed somewhat in 2008

Bolgatanga Municipality 35 Education and Literacy

(see Table 4.1) when only half a percentage presented in Tables 4.2 to 4.4 provide an point (0.5%) of the population was in pre- important overview of the situation of the school, and the rest of the population more educational system in the municipality (see evenly spread over the other levels of also Figures 4.2 and 4.3). It is to be noted, educational attainment. however, that the figures from 2005/2006 to 2007/2008 (in the tables) are those that The proportion of those with tertiary directly refer to the municipality since prior education, for instance, had risen to more to this period, the municipality was a district than 12 per cent of the population, and those which had more communities than after it who have attended vocational or other was re-zoned as a municipality. During the training institutions had risen to over 11 per three academic years under consideration, the cent of the population. This development in number of public schools at all levels from the municipality suggests that the kindergarten to the Junior High School (JHS) dependency ratio in the municipality was increased while private schools either likely to decline significantly between 2000 remained the same or slightly increased as and 2008. well. For example, kindergartens increased from 60 in 2005/2006 to 66 in 2007/2008 while primary schools increased from 59 to 65 and junior high schools from 33 to 40. Table 4.1: Educational Attainment of Population Aged 6 years and above (%) – 2008 The number of private schools also Highest grade completed Percent (%) increased marginally at all levels during the Pre-school 0.5 period. This is reflected in increases in the Primary 20.3 JHS 21.6 school enrolment at all levels in the Middle School 15.2 municipality from 2005/2006 academic year SHS 13.6 to 2007/2008 academic year (Table 4.3). The Secondary School 3.7 kindergarten enrolment increased 4.6 per Voc/Tech 6.1 Teacher training 4.3 cent between 2005/2006 and 2007 and 2008, Nursing training 0.8 while the primary and JHS enrolments Tertiary 12.8 increased 5 per cent and 2.4 per cent Special School 1.1 respectively for the same period. These Total 100.0 increases reflect the kind of positive attention Source: DAEA Household Survey 2008. that both parents and the municipality have

given to improve human resource develop- The enrolment figures from the ment in the municipality. Bolgatanga Municipal Education Directorate

Table 4.2: Bolgatanga Municipality — Number of Basic Schools, 2003–2008 Kindergarten Year 2003–2004 2004–2005 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007–2008 Type Public Private Public Private Public Private Public Private Public Private Number 76 19 87 29 60 18 64 18 66 18 Primary Year 2003–2004 2004–2005 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007–2008 Type Public Private Public Private Public Private Public Private Public Private Number 91 13 91 14 59 17 63 18 65 18

Bolgatanga Municipality 36 Education and Literacy

JHS Year 2003–2004 2004 –2005 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007–2008 Type Public Private Public Private Public Private Public Private Public Private Number 58 1 59 2 33 4 36 5 40 6 Source: Bolgatanga Municipal Education Directorate.

Table 4.3: Bolgatanga Municipality – Enrolment in Basic Schools, 2003–2008 Kindergarten Year 2003–2004 2004– 2005 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007–2008 Gender M F M F M F M F M F Number 3208 3476 3771 4126 3409 3415 3579 3682 4605 4626 Primary Year 2003–2004 2004–2005 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007–2008 Gender M F M F M F M F M F Number 17400 16849 18560 17560 12563 12934 12751 12913 13353 13404 JHS Year 2003–2004 2004–2005 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007–2008 Gender M F M F M F M F M F Number 5068 4765 5801 5613 3421 3791 3740 4228 4204 4734 Source: Bolgatanga Municipal Education Directorate.

Table 4.4: Bolgatanga Municipality — Number of Teachers in Basic Schools, 2003–2008 Kindergarten Year 2003–2004 2004–2005 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007–2008 Trained? (Y/N) Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Number 55 169 55 219 54 184 60 209 110 230 Primary Year 2003–2004 2004–2005 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007–2008 Trained? (Y/N) Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Number 513 147 497 165 368 165 390 249 355 258 JHS Year 2003–2004 2004–2005 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007–2008 Trained? (Y/N) Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Number 331 101 371 102 279 61 314 86 338 128 Source: Bolgatanga Municipal Education Directorate.

Bolgatanga Municipality 37 Education and Literacy

The figures for the number of teachers attending to the schools in the municipality also show increases at all levels between 2005/2006 and 2007/ 2008 academic years, with untrained teachers constituting a substantial proportion of the total at all levels, particularly the kindergarten schools (Table 4.4). The ratio of untrained to trained teachers improved slightly at the kindergarten level Figure 4.2: School Enrolment in Bolgatanga Municipality in 2008. from 3.4 in 2005/2006 to 2.1 in 2007/2008; while that for trained teachers to untrained teachers declined at both the primary and JHS levels from 2.2 in 2005/2006 to 1.8 in 2007/2008 at the primary level, and from 4.6 in 2005/2006 to 2.6 in 2007/2008 at the JHS level.

This means that whereas in 2005/2006 academic year there were 2.2 trained teachers for every untrained teacher at the primary level, by 2007/2008 Figure 4.3: School Enrolment by Sex in Bolgatanga Municipality in 2008. academic this has declined to almost one trained teacher for one untrained teacher (almost a 1:1 ratio). The implication is that while school enrolment has increased within the municipality between 2005 and 2008, the number of trained teachers has not increased enough to match the number of school children, making it necessary to employ more untrained teachers at all levels of basic education in the municipality. This is not a Figure 4.4: School Attendance in the Bolgatanga Municipality — Bolgatanga2008. Municipality 38 Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. Education and Literacy pleasant development for the municipality because the quality of education can Table 4.5: Number of Days Missed in seriously be compromised, and the Municipal School Assembly should take urgent steps to address Indicators Once Twice Thrice Several times it. Sex Boys 20.2 19.3 18.4 42.1 School Attendance Girls 22.6 24.5 17.9 35.0 Age School children in the municipality have 3-5 years 19.1 19.1 23.4 38.4 absented themselves from school for periods 6-8 years 31.8 15.9 15.9 36.4 ranging from one to fourteen days mainly 9-11 years 14.6 24.4 22.0 39.0 (Figure 4.4), but most school pupils have 12-14 years 17.6 23.5 8.8 50.1 15-17 years 15.4 23.1 15.4 46.1 exempted themselves for one to two days 18-20 years 29.4 41.2 5.9 23.5 (21.6%) and up to 4 days (9.5%) during the 21-24 years 40.0 – 60.0 – academic year. A few, however, have been Location absent from school for over 20 days (1.4%) Urban 20.5 25.3 18.1 36.1 while some dropped out of school completely Rural 21.6 19.4 18.0 41.0 during the year (1%). Pupil’s absenteeism by Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. age is presented in Table 4.5. More pupils absented themselves from school due to Table 4.6: Reasons for Missing Classes sickness in the urban areas (82.1%) than in and those that Returned (%) the rural sections (63.3%) of the municipality Reasons Urban Rural Total (Table 4.6). Other key reasons for Sickness 82.1 63.3 69.8 absenteeism in the municipality include Needed on farm/shop/home 10.7 6.3 7.9 when the child is needed to assist in the shop No money to pay fees and 2.4 13.3 9.5 or on the farm, or that they have no money to other expenses pay their fees or that they are not interested Child not interested 2.4 11.4 8.3 Marriage/Pregnancy 2.4 – 0.8 in schooling. A lot of support (including Bad weather – 2.5 1.7 counseling) is needed to help keep these Other – 3.2 2.1 children in school. % that returned 93.8 89.0 90.8 Source: DAEA Household Survey 2008. Besides missing the opportunity for good education because they are unable to Adult Literacy Rates attend classes regularly, several children in the Bolgatanga Municipality are also quite Based on the GSS Population and Housing vulnerable, based on information obtained Census of 2000, it is observed that only 23.5 from the Municipal Assembly (Table 4.7). per cent of the Upper East Region’s Some key indicators of vulnerability show population (15 years and older) were literate in either English or a known Ghanaian that the numbers for some of these language while 7.0 per cent were literate in vulnerable children have been on the increase both languages. For the region as a whole in the municipality since 2005, even though and for each district, illiteracy was higher for the numbers for some categories have been females than for males. This meant that the declining. While street children declined level of effective literacy (literate in English slightly between 2005 and 2007, children only or literate in English and a Ghanaian engaged in child labour and PWDs have been language) was only 21.4 per cent in the on the increase in the municipality, and in all region. Among the districts, Bolgatanga cases there are more vulnerable females than (27.7%) had the highest effective literacy males. level with 34.2 per cent for males and 22.0

Bolgatanga Municipality 39 Education and Literacy per cent for females. For females, the level of The results from the DAEA Household illiteracy was below 80 per cent in the Survey in 2008 indicate that adult literacy municipality (76.3%). level has improved in the municipality between 2000 and 2008. The survey shows that those who can both read and write Table 4.7: Vulnerability of Children in English constitute 55.7 per cent of the the Municipality population of the municipality (see Table Indicator 2005 2006 2007 4.8). Those who are not literate at all Child Out-Migration 95 110 125 Male 40 50 55 represent about 38.7 per cent. In Figures 4.5 Female 45 60 70 and 4.6, the literacy levels by age in the Street Children 113 82 91 municipality are presented. Those who could Male 43 25 43 Female 70 57 61 read and write English were the highest PWDs 8,031 9,519 9,758 (20.1%) in the age group 18–24 years; those Male 3,542 3,653 3,787 who had none (10.5%) were 60 years and Female 4,489 5,866 5,971 above. On the other hand, literacy in local Child Labour 1,883 2,280 2,366 Male 901 1,009 1,102 language indicated that 14.8 per cent had Female 982 1,271 1,264 none in the age group 18–24 years, while Child Protection Teams 32 42 52 11.5 per cent were 60 years and above.

Table 4.8: Adults (18 Years and Over) Literacy Rates (%) Language English Local Read and Write 55.7 22.5 Read only 5.6 10.7 None 38.7 66.8 Total 100.0 100.0 Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008.

Bolgatanga Municipality 40 Health, Water and Sanitation

Figure 4.5: Adult Literacy in English in Bolgatanga Municipality — 2008. Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008.

Figure 4.6: Adult Literacy in Local Language in Bolgatanga Municipality — 2008. Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008.

Bolgatanga Municipality 41 Health, Water and Sanitation CHAPTER 5

Health, Water and Sanitation

Introduction tive; and are mainly orthodox and traditional. The general goal of the health sector in Health Care Infrastructure Ghana has been to improve the quality of life of the people. Policy emphasis for the The number of health facilities in the existing programme of work is to expand municipality can be considered as generally coverage of the National Health Insurance satisfactory. The Bolgatanga Regional Scheme (NHIS); produce, retain and Hospital and Odoi-Agyarko’s Clinic are the distribute health personnel equitably; only well equipped facilities (see Picture improve the delivery of high-impact health 5.1). The rest that are in most of the interventions; and broaden access to deprived parts of the municipality are poorly emergency and ambulance services. These equipped. There are mobile clinics run by objectives, when achieved, would improve the Catholic and Presbyterian Churches. the country’s chances of meeting a number Some newly created Community Health of the targets under the health MDGs. In the Planning Services (CHPS) centres have been case of the Bolgatanga Municipality, similar established at Sherigu, Zuarungu-Moshie, to what pertains in other municipalities and Aguusi and Gambibgo to provide districts, health sector activities include community based health services. The programmes to improve access to quality service providers comprise of the public and health care, and intensification of health private sectors that include Non- education on the control of preventable governmental organizations (NGOs) and diseases such as malaria, guinea worm, TB traditional practitioners. The major health and HIV/AIDS. As part of the general facilities in the municipality are listed in countrywide plan, the municipality has also Table 5.1; and the type of health facilities, earmarked activities to control population growth, improve health care infrastructure and facilities, sustain improvements in the provision of safe water, and beef up activities to improve environmental sanitation. Health services provided in the municipality are both curative and preven- Picture 5.1: A Modern Housing Facility for Doctors at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital.

Bolgatanga Municipality 42 Health, Water and Sanitation their locations and the populations they Table 5.2: Health Care Facilities and the serve are presented in Table 5.2. Populations they Serve in the Municipality Sub-District Health Facilities Population Table 5.1: List of Health Bolga Central Bolga Health Centre, 32,966 Facilities in the Bolgatanga Kalboe Clinic, Police Municipality Clinic Plaza Coronation Clinic, 28,802 Regional Hospital Rural Help 1. Health Centre Integrated, Asankude 2. Bolgatanga Health Centre Memorial Clinic, 3. Zuarungu Health Centre Regional Hospital Sumbrugu Sumbrugu Cinic, 19,265 Clinics Aguusi CHPS Centre  Sumbrungu Clinic Sherigu Sherigu Clinic 17,016  Sherigu Clinic Gambibgo Gambibgo Clinic 8,827  Plaza Clinic Zuarungu Zuarungu Moshie 6,426  Nyariga Clinic  Moshie Clinic  Sokabisi Clinic Zuarungu Zuarungu Health 13,088  Zuarungu Clinic Centre  Gambibgo Clinic Bolga North Nyariga Clinic 10,331  Rural Help Integrated (Private) Bolga South Sokabisi M.CH Unit 11,008  Asakunde Clinic (Private) Total 147,720  Police Clinic (Quasi) Source: MHA, Bolgatanga. Functional CHPS Centres Most of the population in the urban 1. Aguusi CHPS areas of the municipality visit either a public 2. Kalbeo CHPS hospital/clinic (48.2%) or private hospital/ 3. Katanga CHPS clinic (45.8%) when sick (Table 5.3) 4. Yorogo Medina CHPS compared to those in the rural areas (27.7% 5. Yarigabisi CHPS and 27.5% visit public hospital/clinic and 6. Nyokorkor CHPS private hospital/clinic respectively). As expected, more of those living in the rural areas use community health centres (23.1%) The municipality is served by two main and pharmacies/chemical shops (13.1%) pharmacies which are located in the than those living in the urban areas. Bolgatanga township. Only eight (8) out of Incidentally, fewer people and almost equal twenty-seven (27) licensed chemical stores proportions of both urban and rural dwellers are located outside the Bolgatanga township use the services of traditional healers when even though efforts have been made to sick. improve access to such facilities. In general, patronage of these facilities has been low as a result of poverty, illiteracy and ignorance in the rural communities. Similarly, the distribution of medical staff is considered unfavorable in the municipality particularly the rural areas. The doctor-patient ratio in the municipality is about 1 to 28,000 while the nurse-patient ratio is about 1: 5000.

Bolgatanga Municipality 43 Health, Water and Sanitation

The most common diseases patients Table 5.3: Type of Health Facility/Provider report at the hospitals/clinics and other Visited when Ill/Sick (%) health-care centres in the municipality Health Facility/Provider Urban Rural Total include fever/malaria (42%), eye/trachoma Private hospital/clinic 45.8 27.5 34.0 (41%), diarrhoea (6%), coughing (4%), etc. Public hospital/clinic 48.2 27.7 35.0 Community health centre 0.8 23.1 15.2 (Figure 5.1). It is to be noted that guinea Traditional healer 1.2 1.3 1.3 worm infestation (2%) is still prevalent in Pharmacist/chemical shop 2.4 13.1 9.3 the municipality. Other – 0.2 0.1 None 1.6 7.1 5.1 The Bolgatanga Munici-pality health Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 system has emphasized preventive health- Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. care, and encouraged both urban and rural dwellers to use various methods particularly for malaria prevention (Figure 5.2). The use of treated bednets, regular weeding of compound and use of mosquito coil are among the key strategies households in the municipality adopt against malaria.

Attendance at Ante- Natal and Post- Natal Clinics

The Ante-natal service coverage in the Bolgatanga Figure 5.1: Type of Sickness/Injury Reported at the Health Facilities in the Municipality. Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. Municipality has been generally high. Among the key challenges have been the number of visits, inadequate and poor quality of equipment (particularly at the peripheral service delivery points), and teenage pregnancy, among others. Most pregnant women report at the pre-natal Figure 5.2: Strategies Adopted by Households for Malaria Prevention in the delivery points Municipality (%). Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. during the 2nd and

Bolgatanga Municipality 44 Health, Water and Sanitation

3rd trimesters, which need to be improved The DAEA House-hold Survey 2008 through more education. also shows that mid-wives and traditional birth attendants (TBAs) perform most of the The results from the DAEA Household deliveries in the municipality (Figure 5.3). Survey, 2008 indicate that both the pre-natal Mid-wives deliver more babies in the urban and the post-natal attendance have been high areas (70.5%) of the munici-pality, while in the munici-pality. Higher pre-natal TBAs deliver more of them in the rural areas attendance rate was recorded in the urban (40.7%). Delivery by doctors in the areas (89.1%) than the rural areas (81.4%); municipality represents between 12 per cent and the reverse was the case in the case of (urban) and 17 per cent (rural) of the post-natal attendance, 78.9 per cent in the deliveries. urban areas and 82.9 per cent in the rural areas (Table 5.4). Health Status of Children

Available statistics from the municipal Table 5.4: Pre-natal and Post-natal Care health directorate indicate that serious in the Bolgatanga Municipality — 2008 problems confront the municipality about Cares Urban Rural Total the health of children, including Pre-natal malnutrition, stunting, wasting, and children Yes 89.1 81.4 83.7 who are underweight. However, it should be No 10.9 18.6 16.3 Post-natal noted that the percentage of children Yes 78.9 82.9 81.7 suffering from these ailments has been No 21.1 17.1 18.3 declining in the municipality since 2005 Live birth Yes 93.5 89.2 87.9 (Figure 5.4). Malnutrition was highest in the Still pregnancy 3.3 4.5 6.1 municipality during 2005 and 2006, Lost pregnancy 2.2 2.2 6.1 affecting more than 50 per cent of children Still birth 1.1 4.0 – each year; but this declined to about 21 per Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. cent in 2007. Similarly, stuntness in children in the municipality declined from over 20 per cent in 2005 and 2006 to just a little over 5 per cent in 2007.

Figure 5.3: Personnel who Deliver Babies at the Health Facilities in the Municipality (%). Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008.

Bolgatanga Municipality 45

Figure 5.4: Health Status of Children in the Municipality (%). Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. Health, Water and Sanitation

of NHIS in the community is shown in Table 5.5. Table 5.5: NHIS Registration in the Bolgatanga Municipality Figures from Table 5.5 indicate that Status Registered Covered Not re- more women (48.4%) than men (44.5%) gistered/ have registered under the NHIS in the covered municipality, and that more urban dwellers Sex (51.7%) than rural dwellers (43.7%) have Male 44.5 34.3 21.2 Female 48.4 33.8 17.8 also registered with the scheme. Over Location Urban 51.7 37.3 11.0 75 per cent of the population 18 years to 69 Rural 43.7 32.6 23.7 years have registered, while more than 72 Age per cent of the older people who are 70 Under 18 years 4.5 79.7 15.8 18-69 years 75.9 2.1 22.0 years and above have also registered. This 70+ 72.3 2.1 25.6 shows that communities in the municipality Type of work have responded positively to the scheme. Agriculture 22.0 0.8 7.0 Mining & 0.8 - - Quarrying However, some people in the Manufacturing 4.5 - 0.8 municipality have not registered with the Construction 3.9 - 2.5 scheme, especially among the rural Transport/Storage/ 1.9 - 0.8 Communication communities. The major reason people give Finance/Insurance/ 11.4 - 1.9 in both the urban and rural areas for not Services registering with the scheme is that the Utilities 0.8 - 0.6 Wholesale/Retail 21.4 0.6 1.9 premium is too high (about 88%), even trade though a few people indicate that they have Community/Social 10.9 0.6 2.2 no knowledge about the scheme (about 7%). Services Other 2.2 - 0.3 It should be noted that several people have Total 46.3 34.2 19.5 already benefitted from the NHIS in the Health Insurance municipality, some people more than twice or trice (Table 5.6).

The Bolgatanga Municipal Health Insurance Water and Sanitation Scheme (BMHIS) has registered 116,762 subscribers since it started operations in The municipality seems vulnerable in terms November 2005. It registered 14,601 as of of adequate water supply because during the August 2008 for the formal sector mainly dry season, most of the existing water civil and public servants and 27,074 for the bodies dry up whilst bore holes and wells informal sector. The scheme registered virtually become non-functional due to 51,568 being children below 18 years, 9,500 drops in the water table. The water supply for the aged which captures women and men system in the municipality can be classified above 70 years, pensioners 3,521 and 10,496 into rural and urban, based on the location of for indigents which comprises people the facilities and the technology of delivery. who cannot afford the cost of subscription. The rural water supply system consists of This means that the scheme is invariably boreholes, hand-dug wells and other natural offering its services on gratis to a large section of the municipality as about 75,085 water sources such as rivers, dams, ponds subscribers belong to the exempted group, and dugouts, rain water etc. Even though the which also constitutes a majority of the other water sources are not hygienic, about scheme’s subscribers. The registration status

Bolgatanga Municipality 46 Health, Water and Sanitation

40 per cent of the rural populations still water into overhead tanks for distribution to depend on them. residents of these areas. More communities in the municipality are now served with pipe- Table 5.6: Number of Times Respondents borne water, including: Benefited from the Health Insurance Scheme Tindonsobligo/Social Security and Sex Location Total National Insurance Trust/ Upper West Male Female Urban Rural Regional Agricultural Development Project Once 24.5 19.3 15.9 25.7 21.7 (SSNIT/URADEP) Village, Twice 27.6 24.2 24.8 26.3 25.7 Thrice 12.4 14.7 8.6 17.1 13.6 Tindonsobligo/Estates, Zongo, 4+ 6.1 10.3 7.6 8.4 8.1 Dameo/Sawaba, Atulbabisi/Town centre, Cannot 29.4 31.5 43.1 22.5 30.9 Daportindongo, Bukere, Soe/Soe Residen- Remember Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 tial, Zaare/Hospital, Zorbisi, Yikene, Tanzui, Yarigabisi, Dulugu, Kum-bosco, Boreholes provide for a very large and Zuarungu. chunk of the potable water needs of the rural communities in the municipality. There are The supply of safe water to about 210 of them in good working communities in the municipality as well as condition out of a total of more than 366 sanitation seemed to have improved slightly dotted all over the municipality. Hand-dug over the situation in the recent past. Whereas wells also form a very significant source of less than 20 per cent of the population were potable water supply to rural communities. served with boreholes, and less than 3 per (Most of the wells were sunk by NGO’s cent used hand dug wells fitted with pumps notably, Rural Aid, Red Cross, ADRA, and in 2000 (Table 5.7), by 2007, the proportion African Muslim Agency etc). Most of these of the population served with boreholes had are fitted with hand pumps. A number of increased to about 32 per cent (Table 5.8), traditional wells sunk by landlords for the and those using covered hand dug wells (i.e. consumption of their households also exist. those fitted with pumps) had increased to 7 per cent. Overall the percentage of the The urban water supply system population enjoying safe drinking water consists mainly of a network of piped increased from 64 per cent in 2005 to 73 per system that provides water to consumers. cent in 2007. This is limited to central Bolgatanga township and parts of Zuarungu. The major Some improvements were also source of water supply to the town is from observed in the municipality in terms of the water treatment plant at Gowrie in the sanitation. As shown in Table 5.8, the Bongo District. This system is supplemented percentage of the population in the by mechanized boreholes at Zuarungu and municipality using safe excreta disposal the Bolgatanga Secondary School that pump

Table 5.7: Number and Type of Sources of Drinking Water (Rural Water Supply — 2000) Indicators Number Population % of Popu- Provider Quality served lation served 1. Boreholes 112 37,261 19.15% CWSA/World Bank/ DA/ Good Communities 2. Hand dug wells 39 5,696 2.11% Rural aid, Red Cross/ ADRA/ Good fitted with pumps African Muslim Agency Total 249 57,386 21.30% Source: Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Bolgatanga/DWST. Bolga Municipal.

Bolgatanga Municipality 47 Health, Water and Sanitation facility increased from 33 per cent in 2005 to 45 per cent in 2007; and those using In terms of the main sources of KVIL facilities increased from 11 per cent drinking water, results from the DAEA to 17 per cent during the same period. Household Survey, 2008 indicate that a However, more need to be done to majority of urban dwellers get their water effectively check the indiscriminate disposal from pipe borne water sources (either of garbage by sections of the population in individual or public stand water taps). This the municipality, particularly in the rural represents about 79 per cent of the urban areas. population (Figure 5.5). On the other hand, most of the rural population in the municipality obtain water from boreholes (about 72%), implying that tap water Table 5.8: Percentage of the Population Served and boreholes are the main sources of with Safe Water in the Municipality safe water in the municipality. Also, it Indicator 2005 2006 2007 takes less than 15 minutes for both % Population served with safe water 64.0 68.0 73.0 % Population served boreholes 32.0 29.0 32.0 urban and rural dwellers in the % Population served pipe borne 25.0 29.0 34.0 municipality to reach water sources water (Figure 5.6), indicating that % Population served with covered 7.0 10.0 7.0 accessibility to water is generally easy wells % Population using safe excreta 33.0 35.0 45.0 in the municipality. disposal facility % Population with KVIP 11.0 – 17.0

Figure 5.5: Main Sources of Drinking Water in Figure 5.6: Accessibility of Water Supply in the the Municipality (%). Municipality (%). Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008.

Bolgatanga Municipality 48 Resource Endowment

CHAPTER 6

Resource Endowment

Introduction Table 6.1: Matrix of Geology Distribution in the Municipality Geology Type % Area (Hectares) Human and material resource endowment at Alluvium 10.41 the national, regional and municipal/district Birrimian 0.61 levels of nations and economies, to a large Granite 77.30 extent, determine the type of opportunities Mixed (Quartzites, Sandst.) 0.41 Quartz-Sericite Schists 11.27 available to achieve the developmental goals Total 100.00 of these nations and economies. The Source: CERSGIS. Bolgatanga Municipality is endowed with Soils several resources which are briefly reviewed and discussed in this chapter. The investment The soils in the municipality are mainly opportunities that result from these Ferric Lixisols with approximately 44.65 per endowments and how they have been utilized cent area coverage. These include Gleyic are highlighted. Lixisols 22.41 per cent, Haplic Lixisols 11.28 per cent, Eutric Fluvisols 10.41 per Natural/Environmental cent and other minor soils like, Eutric Resources Leptosols, Lithic Leptosols, Dystric Leptosols, Haplic Luvisols and Eutric Geology Gleysols. The Lixisols are soils with sub- surface accumulation of low activity clays The Municipality is largely underlain by formed under intensive weathering Granite with an estimated coverage of 77.30 conditions. They are not very pronounced for per cent, followed by Quartz-Sericite Schists crop production. Leptosols are very shallow with area coverage of 11.28 per cent, and soils over hard rock or highly calcareous Alluvium 5.21 per cent. Also found in the material or a deeper soil that is extremely district is Birimian and mixed (Quartzites, gravely and/or stony. Just like Lixisols, Sandst) constituting 0.61 per cent and 0.41 Leptosols are unattractive soils for agriculture. However, they could have some per cent respectively. These distributions are potential for tree crops or extensive grazing. shown in a tabular form in Table 6.1 and Gleysols are used for extensive grazing. graphically on the map in Map 6.1. Artificially drained Gleysols are used for arable cropping, dairy farming and horticulture. The proportions of areas covered by each of these soil types are shown in detail in Table 6.2 with an accompanying graphical representation in Map 6.2.

Bolgatanga Municipality 48 Resource Endowment

Table 6.2: Matrix of Soil Ferric Lixisols 44.65 Distribution in the District Gleyic Lixisols 22.41 Soil Name % Area (Hectares) Haplic Lixisols 11.28 Haplic Luvisols 0.61 Dystric Leptosols 0.85 Lithic Leptosols 2.87 Eutric Gleysols 0.41 Total Eutric Leptosols 6.51 100.0 Eutric Fluvisols 10.41 Source: CERSGIS.

Bolgatanga Municipality 58 Resource Endowment Map 6.1: Geology Distribution in the Municipality

Bolgatanga Municipality 50 Resource Endowment

Map 6.2: Soil Distribution in the Municipality

Bolgatanga Municipality 51 Resource Endowment

Land Use and Land Cover occupies approximately 34.89 per cent, whilst croplands (agriculture), woodland A number of land cover types exist in the (semi-natural vegetation), built-up surfaces Bolgatanga Municipality. These land cover (settlement/degraded areas) and water bodies types have over the years been harnessed into occupied 11.35 per cent, 9.17 per cent, 1.84 varying land use activities. Derived from per cent and 0.21 per cent respectively. current satellite imagery and ground information, six cover types with two Table 6.3: Matrix of Land Use/Land Cover dominant ones and their associated land use Distribution in the Municipality types were found in the municipality. The Land Use Class Area (Hectare) Percent spatial distribution is presented in Map 6.3 Cropland-Cereals 5,017.50 11.4 Grassland 18,798.72 42.5 while Table 6.3 shows the tabular Settlement/Degraded 813.75 1.8 distribution. Grassland was found to occupy Shrubland 15,417.83 34.9 Water Bodies (Dams) 93.21 0.2 about 42.5 per cent, of the landscape. Woodland 4,053.39 9.2 Shrubland, the second dominant cover, Total 44,194.39 100.0

Table 6.4: Attributes of Land Utilization Types in the Municipality Attributes Low Inputs Intermediate Inputs High Inputs Produce and Rainfed cultivation of maize, pearl millet, wetland rice, sorghum, cowpea, green gram, production groundnut, phaseolus bean, pigeon pea, soybean, cassava, sweet potato, cocoyam, white yam, greater yam, yellow yam, cotton, tobacco, avocado, cashew, banana, citrus (sweet orange), cocoa, coconut, robusta coffee, mango, oil palm, pineapple, plantain, rubber, shea butter, sugarcane, rangeland (natural pasture) and forage legumes. Sole cropping, according to general crop calendars. Market Subsistence production Subsistence production plus Commercial production Orientation commercial sale of surplus Capital Low Intermediate with credit on accessible High Intensity terms Labour High including Medium including uncosted family Low family labour costed Intensity uncosted family labour labour if used Power Source Manual labour with Manual labour with hand tools and/or Complete mechanization hand tools animal traction with improved including harvesting(where implements; some mechanization applicable)

Technology Traditional cultivars. Improved cultivars as available; High yielding cultivars No fertilizer or appropriate extension packages. including hybrids. chemical pest, disease Including some fertilizer application Optimum fertilizer and weed control. and some chemical pest, disease and application. Chemical pest, Fallow periods. weed control. Adequate fallow periods disease and weed control. Minimum conservation and some conservation measures Full conservation measures measures Infrastructure Market accessibility not Some market accessibility necessary. Market accessibility necessary. Inadequate Access to demonstration plots and essential. High level of advisory services. advisory services. advisory services and application of research findings Land Holding Small, fragmented Small, sometimes fragmented Large consolidated Income Level Low Moderate High Note: No production involving irrigation or other techniques using additional water.

Bolgatanga Municipality 52 Resource Endowment

Source: Soil Research Institute, CSIR, Accra, Ghana. Map 6.3: Land Use/Land Cover Distribution in the Municipality

Bolgatanga Municipality 58 Resource Endowment

Land Suitability for Selected Crops 1. Early millet/Sorghum (Major Crops) 2. Early millet/late millet The land suitability tables and maps depict 3. Early millet/Sorghum/local beans Leguminous crops are normally suitability classes for crop production exclusively sown. Land preparation is mostly circumstances relevant to a set of agricultural done by bullocks and the hoe. However, and socio-economic conditions prevailing in tractor is also used. The major staple crops the municipality, which were defined in grown are: millet, sorghum and Frafra terms of Land Utilization Types based on potatoes and the cash crops are maize, rice, rainfall, cropping at three levels of inputs and groundnuts and sweet potatoes. farm operations — low, intermediate and high, shown in Table 6.4. Dry Season Farming

As already indicated, the municipality As discussed elsewhere in this report, the has a total land area of 729 square kilometres Vea Irrigation Project makes available about and 70 per cent of this (51,030 ha) is 637.5ha of land for irrigated farming. In cultivated. Eight per cent (8%) of the addition to this, there exist about seven population are peasant farmers. There are small-scale dams having a total irrigable area of 78ha. Apart from the irrigable land area 14,145 agricultural households with an provided by the Vea and the small-scale average of six persons per household and dams, there exist a potential for water pump average land holdings of between 1.0 and 3.0 irrigation along the banks of the White Volta. ha. Even though there are few dams and Maps 6.4 to 6.6 show land suitability for dugouts, the municipality is basically some of the important crops in the dependent on rain fed agriculture. municipality, namely: cowpea, groundnuts and maize respectively. Crop Production

The crops mostly cultivated by farmers Physical Resources during the rainy season are categorized as Transportation and communication infras- follows: tructure are available in the municipality, Cereals — Millet, sorghum, rice and though not completely adequate. The munici- maize pality depends solely on road transport to link up with the other parts of the country Legumes — Groundnuts, cowpea, soybean (Map 6.7). Bolgatanga town, the capital of and bambara the Upper East Region is the pivot of road Vegetable — Tomato, pepper, okro, onion, transportation with all the three major roads garden eggs and leafy vege- to the other districts radiating from it. tables, beans Socio-economic Resources The main farming system in the district is rain fed mixed cropping. Crop mixture is These include health, education, water and mostly cereal-cereal but occasionally a cereal sanitation, markets and tourism resources in — legume mixture. The common types of the municipality. crop mixtures include:

Bolgatanga Municipality 53 Resource Endowment

Health Facilities There are a number of health institutions providing variety of health services. These facilities are made up of hospitals, clinics and

Map 6.4: Land Suitability for Cowpea (60 days at high level farm input)

Bolgatanga Municipality 54 Resource Endowment

Map 6.5: Land Suitability for Groundnut (90 days at high level farm input)

Bolgatanga Municipality 55 Resource Endowment

Map 6.6: Land Suitability for Maize (120 days at high level farm input)

Bolgatanga Municipality 56 Resource Endowment Map 6.7: Transportation Network Distribution in the Municipality

Bolgatanga Municipality 57 Resource Endowment primary health centres which are mostly Table 6.5: Matrix of Education Facility concentrated in the highly populated areas Distribution in the Municipality with accessible feeder roads. Health services Type of Facility No. of Facilities KG/Creche/Nursery 116 provided in the municipality are both Primary 78 curative and preventive. The services Junior High School 45 provided are mainly orthodox and traditional. Senior High School 6 Total 245 The number of health facilities in the Source: Ministry of Education Science and Sports (Erstwhile) Basic District Profile — municipality is satisfactory. The Bolgatanga 2007/2008 School Year Data. Regional Hospital and Odoi-Agyarko’s Clinic are the only well equipped facilities. Educational Infrastructure The rest that are in most of the deprived parts of the municipality are poorly equipped. The municipality currently has 116 pre- schools, (78) primary schools, forty-five (45) There are mobile clinics run by the Junior High Schools and six (6) Second Catholic and Presbyterian Churches. There Cycle Institutions including an all-girls are Community Health Planning Services Senior High School and a Technical Institute (CHPS) centres established at Sherigu, (Table 6.5). Zuarungu-Moshie, Aguusi and Gambibgo to provide community based health services. The service providers comprise of the public Water and Sanitation and private sectors that include Non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and The municipality is vulnerable in terms of traditional practitioners. Information on the adequate water supply. During the dry type of health facilities and their locations in season, most of the existing water bodies dry the municipality has been provided in up while bore-holes and wells virtually Chapter 5. become non-functional as noted earlier. The Again, as already indicated, the rural water supply system in the municipality municipality is served by two pharmacies, consists of boreholes, hand-dug wells and which are located in the Bolgatanga other natural water sources such as rivers, township. Only eight (8) out of twenty-seven dams, ponds and dugouts, rainwater etc. (27) licensed chemical stores are located Even though the other water sources are not outside the Bolgatanga township. Though hygienic, about 40 per cent of the rural efforts have been made to improve access to populations still depend on them. health service delivery, patronage of these As already indicated elsewhere, bore- facilities has been low as a result of poverty, holes provide for a very large chunk of the illiteracy and ignorance in the rural potable water needs of the rural communities communities. in the municipality. There are about 210 of them in good working condition out of a total of more than 366 dotted all over the municipality. Hand-dug wells also form a very significant source of potable water supply to rural communities. Most of these are fitted with hand pumps. A number of

Bolgatanga Municipality 58 Resource Endowment traditional wells sunk by landlords for the time, and the municipality has managed to consumption of their households also exist. attract some more professionals and better qualified personnel. According to a census Urban water supply system consists publication from Ghana Statistical Service mainly of a network of piped system that dated November 1994, Agriculture accounts provides water to consumers. This is limited for as much as 57 per cent of the labour to central Bolgatanga and parts of Zuarungu. force, trade and commerce 19 per cent, The major source of water supply to the town manufacturing (mainly handicrafts) 11.92 per is from the water treatment plant at Gowrie cent, community/social services 7.4 per cent in the Bongo District. This system is and others like mining, construction, utility supplemented by mechanized boreholes at service. This had changed significantly by Zuarungu and the Bolgatanga Secondary 2008 when agriculture represents about 31 School that pump water into overhead tanks per cent and other sectors becoming more for distribution to residents of these areas. significant (see chapter two of this report). Markets

Local markets, which vary in size and importance, are located in major communities in the municipality.

Tourism

There is a lot of tourism potential in the municipality. The Bolga Craft Village, museum and the Centre for National Culture (CNC) and many festivals such as Dua, and Adakoya offer a lot of interest to tourists. With adequate investment, tourism could open up opportunities for the people to find alternative sources of employment.

Human Resources

The population of the municipality is 147,729 with a growth rate of 1.7 per cent. This is lower than the national rate of 2.7 per cent. The population density of 141.2 persons per sq. km, is far greater than the national density of 79.3 persons per sq. km, indicating that the municipality is more densely populated than many areas of the Upper East Region and of the country as a whole.

Adequate Supply of Quality Labour

The occupational distribution of the municipality has changed considerably over

Bolgatanga Municipality 59 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment

CHAPTER 7 Utilization and Constraints

in Resource Endowment

Introduction they make in future periods (Maxwell and Wiebe 1998).5

In this section, the report describes how the Access to natural resources may not be municipality has utilized the resources it is enough to assure livelihood security (de endowed with, the constraints associated Janvry, et al. 2001). Access to and the use of with the effective utilization of these natural capital by households is complemen- resources and how the utilization has tary with the other forms of capital and it is influenced the attainment of the MDGs in the this asset complementarities or “asset municipality. bundling” — increasing access to natural assets along with simultaneously enhancing The resource endowments’ utilization is access to physical, financial or human capital key to determining the range of livelihood — that is particularly an important opportunities available to all individuals and mechanism for escaping poverty by households in the municipality. The larger strengthening the capabilities of the the resource base, the less constrained the household. Access is a central criterion to choices available to households, and the assuring utilization of resource endowments greater the ease of substituting one form of and in sustaining livelihoods. Natural capital for another in creating wealth. The resources become natural “assets” when more limited the resource base, the more access is assured, either through asset constrained the choice set. The household’s ownership or other forms of securing access asset base, including access to natural and control. Rural poor people who lack resources, thus fundamentally conditions the access to natural capital and other forms of production and exchange decisions it makes. capital are challenged on many fronts: The outcomes of household decisions based obtaining food, accumulating assets and on household’s resource endowments — responding to shocks and misfortune represented by levels of household income, (Baumann 2002). assets and capabilities — influence the consumption and investment decisions of Natural resources vary widely in the households. The consumption and rules that govern access to them. Individuals investment trade-offs made by these primarily hold access to some resources, households influence, in turn, the portfolio of while access to other resources may be natural and other resources to which households have access and the decisions 5 Maxwell, D., and K. Wiebe. “Land Tenure and Food Security: Exploring Dynamic Linkages” Development and Change 30 (1998): 825–849.

Bolgatanga Municipality 60 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment shared across larger groups, including the Utilization of human resources has both state, and some resources are effectively not quantitative (number of jobs secured) and held by anyone. Such open access resources, qualitative aspects (skills, competencies as including many forests and fisheries, are well as the health and well-being of the among those facing the greatest current people). Quantitatively, providing and pressures due to growing populations, securing jobs that enable the individual to do accompanying resource demands, and the what they have become capable of doing is common lack of effective institutions that important. Qualitatively, individuals must do govern access. Because access entails rights, work that enables them to fully employ the it is also fundamentally affected by social capacities that they have developed to and political processes reflecting the effectively sustain their livelihoods. The distribution of power in communities and utilization of the human resources available societies (including dimensions such as in the municipality in the local economy is gender and conflict), by market forces one of wide contrasts. At one extreme is a reflecting the distribution of wealth, and by small proportion of the human resource environmental forces, which are often (workforce) in a relatively small sector of influenced by human activity. high productivity and relative high income Utilization of the Resource (the modern sector). At the other extreme is Endowments in the Municipality also a very large sector of low productivity and relative low income (the subsistence Human Resources Utilization in the agricultural sector) employing the largest Municipality portion of the human resource. Between these is the intermediate sector (informal Human resource development and utilization sector), which is of a moderate size. concerns education, training, employment opportunities and the building of incentives The modern sector includes the more for useful and productive activity. Human productive enterprises such as the newly resource utilization is also closely related to emerging service centres (ICT), government the strategy of economic, social as well as employment establishments such as health, political growth of the locality. Thus human education and administration and the formal resource development and its utilization private industrial (manufacturing) sector. bears in mind the potentials and aspirations Table 7.1 provides a snapshot of the of individuals and the prospective ability of distribution of the human resource in the the society. participation of the local economy of the municipality. The public and the formal The medium term development plan of private sector employ about 39 per cent of the Bolgatanga municipality is to, among the active population. On the other hand, the other things, improve the quality of life of informal and agricultural sector participation the people through education and training. of the human resource of the active This objective also reinforces the GPRS II population constitutes 60 per cent. goal on human resource development programme that emphasizes, among others, education, training and skills development.

The accumulation of capital and the exploitation of natural resources rest upon the development of people and the effective commitments of their energies and talents.

Bolgatanga Municipality 61 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment Table 7.1: Distribution of Economically Table 7.2: Estimates of Unemployment Active Population Aged 15+ by Industry, Rates (%) for Bolgatanga Municipality Status and Type (%) Main Employer 2008 Age Youth(15-24 Adult(15-60 Public 28.8 Group years) years) Private formal 10.6 Private Informal 59.6 2008 2008 Semi-Public/Parastatal 0.5 NGO's/Intl Org 0.5 Rural Total 100.0 Male 28.9 16.1 Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. Female 15.0 20.6

There are, however, large proportions of Total 22.4 18.3 the human resource that are not employed. Urban Table 7.2 presents the unemployment rates for the Bolgatanga Municipality based on the Male 36.8 18.5 DAEA 2008 Household Survey results. The Female 11.5 13.9 unemployment rate for the population 15+ years has been high in the municipality, Total 22.2 16.1 higher among both the urban male youth All (36.8%) and adult male (18.5%) than the Male 30.8 16.8 rural male youth (28.9%) and adult male (16.1%). On the other hand, joblessness are Female 13.6 18.4 higher among both the rural female youth Total 33.2 17.6 and adults in the municipality than the urban females, indicating that relatively more males Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. in the urban areas and more females in the rural areas find it difficult to secure jobs. The overall unemployment rates in the

municipality are 33 per cent for the youth and 18 per cent for the adults. The incidence of underemployment among the adults in the

metropolis is an indication that the human resource is not being utilized to its maximum capacity.

Similarly, the percentage of adult

literacy in the municipality in early 2000s were only about half of the overall national adult literacy rate (Table 7.3), even though

that for the municipality (28.8%) was better than the rate for the Upper East Region as a whole (23.3%). Moreover, the adult literacy

rate among males in the municipality was more (36.1%) than for females (21.6%). The implication is that, the municipal authorities

Bolgatanga Municipality 62 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment need to do a lot more to promote schooling Bank Ltd, Agricultural Development Bank and learning in order to equip the available Ltd and APEX Bank have branches in the human resource to be able to play its role in Bolgatanga township. the local economy.

Infrastructure Utilization in the Table 7.3: Percentage Adult Literacy, 2003: Metropolis National versus Bolgatanga Municipality % Adult National Upper East Bolgatanga It is widely recognized that cost-effective, Literacy Region Municipality reliable, and affordable infrastructure All 53.7 23.3 28.8 Male 66.2 29.8 36.1 services are critical for sustainable Female 42.5 17.0 21.6 development, and a necessary condition for Source: 2003 CWIQ reaching economic, social, and environmental goals. The importance of infrastructure in poverty reduction has been recognized in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which single out access to water supply and sanitation service targets to be achieved by 2015. Although not explicitly stated as goals, access to other infrastructure services such as electricity, transport, and telecommunications is indispensable for achieving the health, education, gender, and income poverty goals. The Bolgatanga Municipality is endowed with a fair share of Picture 7.1: Barclays Bank, Bolgatanga Branch. infrastructure including communication facilities, road network, etc which can be used effectively to promote its development.

Postal Services

The Bolgatanga Post Office houses the regional offices of Ghana Post. It offers all postal services — sale of stamps, postal and money orders, EMS, rental box and private mailbag services. The number of rental boxes now has increased significantly over time with increases in economic activities in the Figure 7.1: Access to nearest Financial Institution in the municipality. Municipality, 2008. Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. Formal Financial Services Their services are mainly concentrated in the Some major banks such as Barclays Bank Bolgatanga township to the neglect of the (Picture 7.1), Ghana Commercial Bank Ltd, rural communities. Non-banking financial SG-SSB Bank Ltd, National Investment

Bolgatanga Municipality 63 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment institutions operating in the municipality Information Communication include the State Insurance Company Ltd, Telecommunication (ICT) Infrastructure Social Security and National Insurance Trust, Quality Insurance, Star Assurance, Susu Vodafone (Ghana) has its regional collectors and Credit Unions. An agency of headquarters in the Bolgatanga Post office the NARA Rural Bank also operates in the block. The company offers telephone, municipality. telegram, and mobile, fax and telex services both at the domestic and international levels. Among other things, these banks are The other mobile service providers include, strategically positioning themselves to take MTN and Tigo. Apart from these mobile advantage of the increase in economic phone service providers, there are 63 private activities in the municipality and its general communication centres, which offer economic performance. The Bolgatanga telephone services with a few of them having township also serves as the last major link to fax services. Some NGOs and private the Sahelian region, and the services of these companies offer e-mail and Internet services banks could be critical in the development of as well. inter-regional trade in the northern part of the country. In general, banks are more accessible to the urban population than the Table 7.5: Access to Nearest rural people in the municipality as shown in Telecommunication Facility Figure 7.1. Time Spent Urban Rural Total 0–14 minutes 33.0 7.8 18.0 Road and other Transport Infrastructure 15–29 minutes 30.7 6.2 16.1 30–44 minutes 17.0 27.1 23.0 The central road axis in the municipality is 45–59 minutes 15.9 20.9 18.9 the Tamale-Bolgatanga-Paga road, which is 60+ minutes 3.4 38.0 24.0 asp1 halted. The Tamale-Bawku road which Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. passes through the central street of the The world over, telecommunication is Bolgatanga township is also motorable acknowledged to be a critical infrastructure throughout the year and, therefore, a major sector. The growth and development of influence on the economic life of the telecom services has a direct and significant populace. Within the Bolgatanga township impact on the efficiency, competitiveness itself, accessibility is being improved as the and growth of the economy. Within the road network is currently being renovated. telecom sector, it is the mobile infrastructure Access to transport facilities is generally easy that has demonstrated itself to be the most in the municipality as shown in Table 7.4. conducive medium to rapidly and economically deliver the benefits of communication and connectivity in the Table 7.4: Access to Public Transport in municipality. Cellular mobile telephony has the Municipality brought modern telecommunication services Time Spent Urban Rural Total to the municipality. Thus the mobile 0–14 minutes 33.0 23.0 25.6 telephony has become an effective tool, not 15–29 minutes 36.2 19.3 24.7 only to bridge the urban-rural digital divide, 30–44 minutes 20.2 27.4 17.2 45–59 minutes 6.4 14.8 12.3 but has also led to a catch-up with the rest of 60+ minutes 4.3 15.6 20.3 the country. Table 7.5 depicts the ease of Source: DAEA Household Survey 2008. access to telecommunication facilities by a

Bolgatanga Municipality 64 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment majority of the population in the higher health attendance, especially at public municipality. health institutions and particularly for the period 2006. Housing, Water and Sanitation

Housing delivery in the municipality has increased but developments have been more in the private sector. Relatively, the housing situation has improved but the quality and services are still problematic. The old parts of the municipality have seen the housing conditions deteriorate. Thus service distribution relatively has been bad although most of these houses are connected to electricity. The expanding areas are more in the government/ residential areas and see better services with better housing quality. The regularity of water supply, however, is not smooth. The Municipal Assembly plans that with the Figure 7.2: Infants and Maternal Deaths in the Municipality. support of development partners, more boreholes and protected wells will be sunk to make potable water accessible to more of the Life expectancy in the municipality is population. The procurement of more only 50 years; compared to the national sanitary tools and equipment will lead to a figure of 55 years. The high level of illiteracy great improvement in waste management. and poverty as well as the limited access to safe drinking water and the existence of poor Health Infrastructure sanitation and unhygienic practices have exposed many people to health hazards The health infrastructure provided services in which contribute to the lowering of the living pre-and post-natal care and child standards of the people. The prevalence of immunization, among several others. diseases like malaria, diarrhoea, anaemia, Maternal and child mortality has also acute respiratory infections and gynaeco- declined in the municipality due to logical disorders as well as the outbreak of improvements in health facilities (Figure epidemics such as cholera, anthrax and CSM 7.2). can be traced to the above factors. Other conditions such as malnutrition and micro Maternal Mortality Ratio in Bolgatanga nutrient deficiency (mostly among children) Regional Hospital (670.4/100,000 Live are also prevalent in the municipality. Births) was above the regional average. Malaria and eye/trachoma continue to be Haemorrhage and sepsis account for almost diseases of major public health concern. 50 per cent of all the maternal deaths. The Malaria is the number one cause of morbidity two major direct causes of deaths are sepsis, and accounts for 46 per cent of OPD 45 per cent, and haemorrhage (APH and attendance and 11 per cent of all institutional PPH) 36 per cent. The two account for about deaths in the municipality. 81 per cent of all the maternal deaths. The introduction of the national health insurance Electricity/Energy scheme (NHIS) has also partly contributed to

Bolgatanga Municipality 65 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment

Until 2001, only Bolgatanga township, and played by the various NGOs in resource parts of Zuarungu, and Sumbrungu, enjoyed access and mobilization. electricity from the national grid. Through the Self-Help Electrification Project (SHEP At the national level, the participation of III) and the Support Towards Providing adults in the municipality in exercising their Electrification in the Upper East Region franchise in national elections has been funded by a Spanish Government loan relatively high (Table 7.6). Participation in facility, the total number of towns/villages the 2004 national elections was about 81.8 enjoying electricity has increased. In spite of per cent. This proportion, however, declined the extension of electricity to the rural areas, two years later during the district level most households still use the kerosene- elections to about 74 per cent. The proportion fuelled hurri-cane lamp. This is due to the of people consulted on projects initiated in fact that they cannot afford the payment of the tariff. Bolgatanga township has a number their communities is, however, low (about of filling stations, which retail fuel and 29.2%). lubricants. The Bulk Oil supply and

Transport Company (BOST), has a depot at Bolgatanga, which serves as the main source Table 7.6: Participation in Political of fuel and LPG for the municipality and the Events in the Municipality Location region. Political Event Total Rural Urban Institutions and Governance 2006 District Elections 79.1 63.7 74.0 2004 National Elections 84.5 76.2 81.8 Utilization in the Municipality Consulted on projects 39.5 7.7 29.2 Member of Unit Committee 4.0 0.8 2.9 The changing institution-resource access relationships that highlights the resource The Level of Participation in Community endowments and problems associated with Development Programmes the participation of individuals has already been noted. Participation in land, labour, and The participation in community development agricultural markets can determine the types programmes depends, among others, on the and quantities of resources with which a effectiveness of the political leadership at the household is endowed and exploited. In local level and interactions of the addition, markets can provide an alternative communities with their leaders. In addition, means of access to land and other resources belonging to an association and participating for households with enough capital, for in its activities provide opportunities to instance, to rent or buy land in other areas. community members to individually or Thus, participation in institutions not only collectively contribute to community affects access to resources, the contrary is initiatives and development. At the commu- also true: access to resources affects nity level, several groupings/ associations participation in institutions. including CBO, FBO and other organizations have been formed with the assistance of The institutions in the governance NGOs and the Municipal Assembly with the structure in the municipality consist of the pursuit of more economic interests like traditional leadership system and the central securing credit and market access. More government structures, including the people in the rural communities (over 50%) Municipal Assembly and services provided, than in the urban communities (about 25%) the security and judicial systems, and the role actively participated in community develop-

Bolgatanga Municipality 66 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment ment meetings in the municipality (See Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. Figure 7.3). On the other hand, more households in the urban communities (43.8%) than the rural areas (25.5%) belonged to associations. Also, most of the population in the rural areas belongs to community based organizations (CBOs) while most people in the urban areas belong to other organizations (Figure 7.4). Only a few of the people belong to farmer based organizations (FBOs).

Membership of associations also implies making contributions in cash and kind to such associations to promote development in

the municipality. Most members of the associations make contributions to those associations both in the rural and urban areas (Figure 7.5); and most of such contributions are in the form of cash (Figure 7.6).

Figure 7.3: Participation in Community Meetings and Associations in the Municipality.

Bolgatanga Municipality 67 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment In the focus group discussions, it came to light that although most of the respondents (over 60%) know the MCE and the MP for their locality (Figure 7.7). The interaction of the communities with their MCE and the Member of Parliament was difficult (Figure 7.8). This implies that both the MCE and MP need to do more to promote interaction with the various communities in the Figure 7.4: Type of Association Households Belong to in the municipality. Municipality (%). Most communities indicated that they interact more with their local assembly member than with the MP or MCE. Communities therefore relay their problems and grievances through their assemblymen/women to the Municipal assembly. Their participation in community development programmes is therefore mainly through their assemblymen/women. Given that communities are not consulted on projects in their Figure 7.5: Proportion of Households that make Contribution to communities, direct participa- Associations (%). tion in community development meetings in the municipality is rather low.

Satisfaction with Quality of Service Provision in the Metropolis

As discussed elsewhere in this report, access to public services in the municipality is generally easy. When households were asked during the DAEA Household Survey 2008 whether they have been satisfied with the quality of Figure 7.6: Type of Contribution made to Associations in the services provided by the Municipality (%).

Bolgatanga Municipality 68 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment

Municipality, more than 40 per cent in both assembly in the last 12 months, according to the rural and urban areas indicated they were the DAEA Household Survey, 2008, has dissatisfied (Figure 7.9), but more urban than been generally low (11%). The perception on rural dwellers indicated they were satisfied satisfaction of legal service provision in the (about 38% in the urban area compared to communities and by the municipal assembly less than 5% in the rural area). In the area of among the households is more of satisfaction legal services, the proportion of households at one end and indifference at the other that have used legal services of the municipal (Figure 7.10).

Figure 7.7: Proportion of Respondents that Know the MCE and MP in the Municipality (%). Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008.

Assessment of Governance in the Municipality over the Past 12 months

The UNESCAP defines governance as the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions Figure 7.8: Proportion of Households Indicating Difficulty in Interaction (%). are implemented. An ana- Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. lysis of governance focuses

on the formal and informal actors involved in decision- making and implementing the decisions made and the formal and informal structures that have been set in place to arrive at and implement the decision. Government is one of the actors in governance. Other Figure 7.9: Households’ Satisfaction with the Quality of Services Provided actors involved in gover- by the Municipal Assembly. Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. Bolgatanga Municipality 69 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment nance vary depending on the level of government that is under discussion.

Figure 7.10: Proportion of Population in Municipality who used Legal Services and their Level of Satisfaction (%). Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008.

In rural areas, for example, other actors and that the voices of the most vulnerable in may include influential landlords, associa- society are heard in decision-making. It is tions of peasant farmers, cooperatives, also responsive to the present and future NGOs, research institutes, religious leaders, needs of society. finance institutions, political parties, and the military, among others. In the MTDPs, some pillars in the Good governance is said to have eight protection of rights under the rule of law and major characteristics. It is participatory, the public safety and security is the increase consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, in the capacity of the legal sector to enhance responsive, effective and efficient, equitable speedy and affordable access to justice, and inclusive and follows the rule of law. It promoting the provision of legal aid to the assures that corruption is minimized, the poor and improving internal security, among views of minorities are taken into account others.

Bolgatanga Municipality 64 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment

Figure 7.11: Households’ Assessment of Governance in terms of Access to Security, Legal Services and Access to the Municipal Assembly in the Past 12 Months. Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. Through the focus group discussions, municipality who have seen improvement in participants allude to relative security in their governance in terms of access to security communities. They attribute this to the services was higher in the urban (over 30%) control that the chiefs, opinion leaders and than the rural areas (about 25%). But more the assembly members in the community people saw no change in both the urban have over the people in the communities. All (35%) and rural (about 70%) parts of the the communities indicate that their traditional municipality. authority system works and it is effective. The participants indicated that they do not Similarly, more people in the urban relate much with the police, as they do not areas than the rural areas saw improvements have problem with them. in legal services. Those who have seen no change or deterioration in access to the Figures 7.11 and 7.12 present the self assembly and its performance in terms of the assessment of households in the Munici- delivery of these services were more than 50 pality, according to the DAEA Household per cent of the population in both the urban Survey, 2008, on governance in terms of and rural areas. Thus majority of the access to Security, Legal Services and access population in the municipality have seen no to the Municipal Assembly in the past 12 change and/or deterioration in governance Months. The proportion of households in the particularly in the rural areas.

Bolgatanga Municipality 64 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment

Figure 7.12: Households’ Assessment of Governance in terms of Access to Municipal Assembly, and Performance of the Municipal Assembly in the Past 12 Months. Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008.

Constraints in Resource cannot afford education, and the illiterate Endowment Utilization cannot hope to earn enough to overcome poverty. Those with no education also lack There are several constraints that limit the job placements in the more productive utilization of the numerous resource sectors of the economy. endowments in the municipality. Some of the main constraints are the vicious cycle of Constraints in Natural Resources poverty (that low productivity leads to low Utilization income, low income leads to low savings, and low savings leads to low investment and In the natural resources utilization, backward low investment to low productivity), low technology, rising population on marginal levels of production technology, high lands, desertification, conflicts, slash/burn illiteracy rates and the under developed rural method of cultivation and fragile soils, infrastructure. flood/erosion among others are the major causes in the low utilization rates and the Constraints in Human Resources degradation of the natural resources of land, Utilization forests and water bodies. In the municipality, it is generally acknowledged that several One key constraint in having a large hundreds of hectares of land per annum are proportion of the human resource in the made unproductive through bush fires and municipality in low productivity agricultural other human activities. and informal sector production is the low educational attainment of the population Agriculture Impact on Lands and Soil aged 6 years and above (see Chapter 4). It is The farming systems in the municipality common knowledge that the illiterate are (compound farms) and those farther away in more likely to remain poor, and the poor are the bush (bush farms) have adjusted to more likely to be illiterate (or uneducated external factors and exhibits either mixed and unskilled). It is a vicious cycle. The poor cropping, mixed farming, inter-cropping and

Bolgatanga Municipality 64 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment mono cropping. The crops cultivated in the These products have become signi- compound farms include cereals (maize and ficantly commercialized since demand for sorghum), tobacco and vegetables, whereas these items has risen sharply with the those cultivated in the bush farms include increase in the urban population. The cowpea, groundnuts, maize, sorghum, millet harvesting of these resources (forest products and tomato. These farms are based on the gathering) is usually made in relatively less bush fallow system in which cropping and sustainable ways. Some cut the trees and fallow periods are alternated. The land shrubs without replacing them. Therefore, resources in the agricultural areas of the the municipality experiences levels of forest municipality are under threat of degradation product resource utilization that far exceeds due to increased demand for agricultural the productive capacities of the exploited products from the rapid human population species to sustain exploitation. In addition, growth and lack of appropriate farm economic trees, shrubs and grasses are lost to technologies. This has caused the land fallow bushfires every year due to human activities. period to be reduced with attendant declines This leads to environmental degradation and in soil fertility. Farmers within the urban loss of genetic resources. areas complain of land scarcity, hence have to travel long distances outside the Hazards and Environmental Impact on municipality in search of land to farm. Those Utilization of Resource Endowments farmlands that are within the urban areas of the municipality are intensively farmed. Figures 7.13 to 7.15 show the proportion of households in the municipality that have Forest Product Exploitation been affected by hazards and environmental effects of flood, windstorm, drought and Charcoal and fuelwood are income earners bush fires, and the strategies adopted to cope for some members of communities, particu- with these calamities. larly in the rural areas of the municipality.

Figure 7.13: The Proportion of Households Affected by Floods in the Municipality and Strategies Adopted to Cope with such Disasters.

Bolgatanga Municipality 71 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment

Figure 7.14: The Proportion of Households Affected by Windstorms in the Municipality and Strategies Adopted to Cope with such Disasters.

Figure 7.15: The Proportion of Households Affected by Droughts in the Municipality and Strategies Adopted to Cope with such Disasters.

Figure 7.16: The Proportion of Households Affected by Bushfires in the Municipality and Strategies Adopted to Cope with such Disasters.

Bolgatanga Municipality 72 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment

The proportion of all households in the Bushfires also created problems for the municipality who have been affected by municipality, but this affected a relatively floods increased marginally from 44 per cent smaller proportion of the population. Those in 2007 to 49 per cent in 2008. Strategies that affected by bushfires increased from about 5 are adopted by households to cope with per cent in 2007 to about 11 per cent in 2008. flooding include construction of drainage, Clearing of bush was cited as the most planting trees around the house, moving important strategy (52%) to fight bushfires, away from flood prone areas and desilting of followed by education (35%) of members of the drainage. The construction of drainage the municipality (Figure 7.16). was cited by 42 per cent of all households in Enhancing Utilization of Resource the 2008 survey, but are cited by 52 per cent Endowments in the Municipality of households in the rural areas of the municipality and 37 per cent of urban The nature of the property rights governing dwellers in the municipality. resource endowment use (the institution- resource access relationships) is a key With windstorm, the proportion of all determinant of how well producers and households in the metropolis who have been consumers use the resources to enhance affected increased from 31 per cent in 2007 livelihoods. When property-rights-systems to 35 per cent in 2008. Strategies that are are universal, exclusive, transferable, and adopted by households to cope with enforceable, the owner of a resource has a windstorm include planting of more trees powerful incentive to use that resource around the house, use of good and strong efficiently because failing to do so results in roofing sheets, and using strong materials a personal loss. like blocks to hold the roof firm. Planting of more trees around the house was cited by 49.6 per cent of all households in the 2008 survey, but are cited by 53.4 per cent of households in the rural areas of the municipality and 44 per cent of urban dwellers.

The proportion of all households in the municipality who have been affected by drought increased from 27 per cent in 2007 to 36 per cent in 2008. Adopted strategies by households to cope with drought include construction of dams, adoption of early planting techniques to meet the rains, and storing of food to take care of the drought period. The most cited coping strategy for drought is the adoption of early planting techniques to meet the rains cited by over 69.2 per cent of households in the rural parts of the municipality, while urban dwellers (over 70%) cited storing of food to meet drought periods as the most important strategy.

Bolgatanga Municipality 73 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment

balance their extraction and conservation decisions.

The DAEA Household Survey, 2008 asked households the relevance of resources available to them, the payments for, and the willingness to pay for the use of these resources. These are presented in Figures 7.17 to 7.19.

In Figure 7.17, 97 per cent of Figure 7.17: Relevance of Resources to Households in the households see the resource Municipality. Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. endowments as very relevant or relevant to the socio-economic development of their communities. However, Figure 7.18 indicates that whilst 14 per cent of households indicate that nobody pays for the use of these resources, 52 per cent indicates that payment for the use of the resources are borne by the government. Also, 34 per cent of the household respondents indicate that individuals and the community pay Figure 7.18: Payment for Resource Use by Households in the for the use of the resources. Municipality. Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. In Figure 7.19, only 30 per cent of households interviewed indicate that they are willing to pay for resource use in the municipality. That is, a larger proportion of households would like to see somebody else pay for their use of resource endowments in the municipality.

Utilization of Resource Endowments and Links to MDGs Figure 7.19: Willingness of Households to Pay for Resource use in the Municipality. in the Municipality Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. For scarce natural resources, the owners The utilization of resource endow- derive a scarcity rent. In properly specified ments in the municipality and its impacts on property right systems, this rent is not the livelihoods of the dissipated by competition. It serves the social purpose of allowing owners to efficiently

Bolgatanga Municipality 74 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment people, conditioned on the constraints associated with the resource endowment utilization, impacts on the living conditions of the households and the poverty outcomes of the citizenry. These are conditioned by the institution- resource access relationships.

Goal 7 of the MDG is to ensure environmental sustainability which is hinged on three targets: (a) integrating the princi- Figure 7.20: Adult Literacy in the Municipality (15 years and older) ples of sustainable development by Sex. into country policies and Source: CWIQ Survey, 2003. programmes and reversing the loss of environmental resources; (b) 35 halving by 2015, the proportion of 30 people without sustainable access 25 20 to safe drinking water and basic 15 Ghana sanitation, and (c) by 2020, to have 10 achieved a significant improve- 5 Upper East 0 ment in the lives of at least 100 Bolga million slum dwellers. Thus the institutional-resource access relationship must deliver safe drinking water, basic sanitation and decent housing for the Figure 7.21: Percentage Receiving Financial and In-kind Support. Source: CWIQ Survey, 2003. citizenry.

Resource Endowments and Poverty Indicator Outcomes in the Municipality

The poverty situation in the Bolgatanga municipality has been described by some human poverty index (HPI) dimensions, particularly based on data from the CWIQ Survey of 2003 (see Chapter 3). Achieving the first of Figure 7.22: Percentage of Household able to Survive Crisis. Source: CWIQ Survey, 2003. the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) which is to eradicate worse of relative to the national situation in extreme poverty and hunger by year 2015 in terms of adult literacy (knowledge) and the municipality is an important challenge. access to safe water. The rapidly growing population poses the question of food Overall, the municipality is observed to security in the municipality. Protein Energy have a greater proportion of the population

Bolgatanga Municipality 75 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment

Malnutrition (PEM) is the most widespread 12 months prior to the DAEA Household and serious nutritional disorder in Ghana, Survey of 2008 is indicated by the especially among children. It is manifested in percentage of households which suffered mild to severe stunting, wasting, and food shortages during some period of the underweight condition among children (see year. Overall, over 61 per cent of households Chapter 5). The estimated HPI components in the municipality indicated it was not and the other poverty indicators suggest that the incidence of poverty and the level of deprivation are higher among rural households than their urban counterparts in the municipality.

The CWIQ Survey of 2003 throws more light on the level of adult literacy in the municipality compared to the regional and national averages (Figure 7.20). Figure 7.23: Household with Safe Sanitation (main type of toilet). Source: CWIQ Survey, 2003. The low level of adult literacy is an indicator of poverty level among the communities in the municipality. Also, even though relatively fewer households in the municipality received support compared to the national average (Figure 7.21), more households indicated that they felt insecure in the time of crisis (Figure 7.22). Moreover, more people in the municipality compared to the national average indicated they Figure 7.24: Percentage of Household with difficulty in Satisfying Food Needs Compared to a Year Ago. have no safe sanitation (Figure Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. 7.23). difficult to satisfy household food needs in the municipality. There are, however, gender Resource Endowments and Food Security and location differences. The eradication of hunger is one of the main It is relatively more difficult to satisfy goals of the MDG. The proportion of food needs in the urban areas than the rural households that faced difficulties in meeting and more difficult among men than women. food needs is used to capture the progress Figure 7.24 shows that a greater proportion made in eradicating extreme hunger in the of the population in the municipality had municipality. The hunger situation in the past

Bolgatanga Municipality 76 Utilization and Constraints in Resource Endowment difficulty satisfying food needs (somewhat, often or always had difficulty). Conclusion: Utilization of escaping poverty by strengthening the Infrastructure Resource to Meet capabilities of the household. MDGs Human resource development and utilization concerning education, training, The overall assessment of the outcomes of employment opportunities and the building the economic situation of the municipality of incentives for useful and productive suggests that communities have not fully activities are important in harnessing the exploited the numerous resource endow- resource endowments some human resource ments. Access to and the use of the resources utilization is closely related to the strategy of by households is complementary with the economic, social as well as political growth other forms of capital, and it is this asset of the municipality. The changing institution- complementarities or “asset bundling” — resource access relationships that highlight increasing access to natural assets along with the resource endowments and problems simultaneously enhancing access to physical, associated with the participation of indivi- financial or human capital — that is duals in the municipality needs to be particularly an important mechanism for enhanced for broader community participation in governance.

Bolgatanga Municipality 77 Investment Opportunities, Constraints and Challenges in the Bolgatanga Municipality

CHAPTER 8 Investment Opportunities, Constraints and Challenges in the

Bolgatanga Municipality

Introduction potential investors would do well to explore as they also offer opportunities for profit. There are also major opportunities in real The Bolgatanga Municipality was created estate development and construction. The recently to facilitate the economic Waste Management Department also has the development of the communities, and potential, with collaborative partners, to turn promote local level initiatives as well as the waste generated in the city in establishing rapid emancipation of the population. The a plant that could process methane from solid Municipal Assembly in recent years has waste to provide alternative energy source focused more on improving and sustaining for the communities. revenue generation and mobilization to Northern Ghana is said to have growth promote a strong vibrant economy whose potential in several areas including agriculture, industry and commerce are well agriculture, mining and tourism. SADA sets coordinated and integrated. The construction out a comprehensive development strategy of dams, promotion of the tourism sector, and action plan for consideration by and the upgrading of village markets are government, private sector and development some of the activities facilitated by the partners in hastening development in Assembly to provide employment for the Northern Ghana6 including the Bolgatanga people. Agriculture is the main economic Municipality. Envisioned on a Forested activity in the municipality. The main North — where food crops and vegetables produce include millet, sorghum (or guinea- are intercropped with economic trees that are corn), maize, groundnut, beans, and dry resilient to weather changes, sustain a stable season tomatoes and onions. Livestock and environment, and creating a permanent stake poultry production are also important in the in land for poor — the strategy contains municipality. seven main components that include The municipality is also positioned to stimulating the modernization of agriculture produce capital (intermediate) goods. development and the competitiveness of Vehicle repairs, fabrication of spare parts and small holders, initiating actions that would the manufacture of farm implements such as stimulate investment and business cutlasses, bullock ploughs and trailers are all potential investment-deepening opportunities assured of strong market demand. Leather 6 Strategic Directions for Sustainable Development of works, pottery and carpentry are sectors Northern Ghana, p.1.

Bolgatanga Municipality 78 Investment Opportunities, Constraints and Challenges in the Bolgatanga Municipality development, enhancing investments in rearing and processing of local produce as strategically-targeted economic and social the natural and human resources in the infrastructure, and focusing on actions on municipality are less exploited. environmental renewal, improved water In the FGDs (Picture 8.1), the resource management and disaster modernization of the food/natural resource preparedness. extraction activities of agriculture and related The outcomes of these strategy thrusts activities in the municipality was on the people in the municipality must lead emphasized. Some of the main needs were in to significant gains in poverty reduction the modernization of the extraction of shea under improved entrepreneurial opportuni- butter; opening up cold stores for fresh fish ties, have potential to create jobs and wealth sales and improving on livestock rearing. for both the entrepreneur and employees, and Opinion leaders and major stakeholders be environmentally friendly both on-farm lamented about the defunct Bolgatanga Meat and off-farm and have relatively great Factory and indicated that together with potential for increasing female employment. opening a cold storage facility in the municipality could be a big investment Investment Opportunities in the opportunity. Bolgatanga can be a hub for Municipality cold storage of slaughtered animals from the north (including Burkina Faso) to the south. Modernizing Agriculture and Associated

Investment Opportunities

Agricultural modernization strategy relies on market-based value-chain process that allows smallholder farmers to build assets, improve productivity and adopt improved production methods through innovations and technologies that enhance changes in the product mix. This modernization process must ensure the end product finds market, domestic or foreign through exports. Needs assessments in investments in agriculture and related activities were solicited from the focus group Picture 8.1: A Focus Group Discussion (FGD) Session in the discussions (FGDs) held with the Municipality. communities and also with other Source: DAEA Household Survey, 2008. stakeholders. The need for support for agricultural inputs in terms of combine During some FGD sessions, enhancing harvesters, fertilizers, and jobs for their investments in the handicraft sub-sector for artisans, as they are under-utilized for their both local and foreign markets, and to boost skills were emphasized. Employment tourism in the municipality were raised. The opportunities for women were also a major communities, however, indicated that the focus. The overwhelming agreement is that straw resource is under pressure as it is financial support can help expand businesses becoming more and more difficult to obtain in petty trading, fish trading, livestock straw from local sources due to farming

Bolgatanga Municipality 79 Investment Opportunities, Constraints and Challenges in the Bolgatanga Municipality activities, bushfires, and the lands being sold at the domestic and international levels for housing and other projects. Asked if the communities/individuals must adopt communities would advise their children to mechanisms to offer agricultural products invest in agriculture, the response was yes with improved consumer-driven attributes. but only when the children have good The focus of the production sector must be education. They admit that the Bolgatanga encouraged to move away from just growing township is rapidly expanding and very soon the agricultural products towards value- they may not be able to do some of the things addition. they are doing now and the way they do them. For instance, poultry and pig farming Non-farm and Business Development used to be concentrated in the city centre but Opportunities with expansion, poultry and pig farming have moved to the outskirts. Hence some of the The Waste Management Department has the opportunities will continue to exist at the potential, with collaborative partners, to turn outskirts of the city. the waste generated in the city in establishing The agricultural sector in the a plant that could process methane from solid municipality has many investment waste to provide biogas energy. Biogas opportunities. With arable land and available technology, which converts biological waste manpower the conditions are favourable for into energy, is considered by many experts to investment in direct production, processing, be an excellent tool for improving life, transport, the provision of agricultural inputs livelihoods, and health in the developing and their marketing. There are also numerous world. The municipality has abundant raw opportunities in cattle and poultry farming, materials for producing biogas. Waste and particularly for guinea fowl production. polluted water from industry — including Enhancing marketing opportunities of slaughterhouse remnants, animal dung and the agricultural products in the municipality sewage — can be converted into carbon must target the domestic and international dioxide and methane through anaerobic markets. The focus on the value-added chain digestion. The biogas can be used as fuel for with more emphasis on products processed cooking, and the waste product as fertilizer. can increase the marketing opportunities. In Biogas investment opportunities therefore general, technology for value-added exist in the municipality. Properly designed processing is available. For most value-added and used, a biogas digester mitigates a wide technology, the critical issue is developing spectrum of environmental undesirables that technology so that it is appropriate to the including improving sanitation, reducing producers and is economically feasible. With greenhouse gas emissions, reducing demand globalization, however, consumers are for wood and charcoal for cooking, and, becoming more aware of food product therefore, helps preserve forested areas and characteristics. Increasingly, among others natural vegetation. Biogas generated can be (a) food safety and quality control has bottled for home use as well. The Abattoir’s become driving forces in the food (including opportunity to generate biogas from its waste livestock) sector, and (b) farm production is for use can enhance its activities. Abattoir becoming more dependent on precise waste carries high levels of microorganisms information to manage production driven by that cause disease in humans and animals but biological and environmental factors are excellent source of material for including integrated pest management. generating biogas. Therefore to increase competitiveness, both

Bolgatanga Municipality 80 Investment Opportunities, Constraints and Challenges in the Bolgatanga Municipality

Leather works, pottery and carpentry are products are either exported to other parts of sectors potential investors would do well to the country or abroad, particularly, Western explore as they also offer opportunities for Europe. Productivity in the straw and leather profit (Picture 8.2). The artisanal sector in works appears to be higher than in compound the metropolis fabricates fuel tanks, water farming, but most people tend to engage in tanks, containers, bullock ploughs and tractor the straw and leather business only during trailers, among others. Financing the work of the dry season when farming activities are at artisans in the municipality generally poses a their minimum. As already noted, another major problem as most of the artisans lack problem that hinders the industry is the ever- collateral to meet formal bank loan demands. dwindling supply of local straw, which can The opportunities, however, exist through the be traced mainly to farming activities, small scale funding arrangements by bushfires, and long dry seasons. financial institutions to enhance the Consequently straw has to be imported from productivity of these artisans to create the south making the cost of production employments for the youth. higher. There have been several interventions in the form of micro-credit financing in the handicraft industry by Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the municipality during the past five years, such as the Star of Hope International of Sweden. Tolls and fees from the export of straw and leather products contribute significantly to the internally generated revenue of the Municipal Assembly. Other handicraft products are hoes, knives, and

Picture 8.2: A Typical Artisanal Carpentry Shop in the Northern Part of pots, most of which are used Ghana. locally. The hoe in particular serves as the most important tool for peasant Handicrafts farmers in the municipality.

The handicraft industry in straw baskets and Quarrying and Sand Winning hats, leather tanning, leather bags and hats, smock weaving etc. has probably done more There are numerous stone crackers near than any other economic activity to put Bongo. They contribute in no small way to Bolgatanga’s name on the world tourist map. the local small-scale construction industry. The handicraft industry is arguably the most Sand minning is found in some parts of the important single source of cash earnings for municipality but the main source is the Kula the people of the settlements near riverbed near Bolgatanga. Quarrying and Bolgatanga, such as Zaare, Dulugu, sand winning pose a number of challenges to Sumbrungu, Zorbisi, Zuarungu, Kalbeo and the Municipal Assembly as far as Nyariga. Most of the straw and leather environmental degradation is concerned.

Bolgatanga Municipality 81 Investment Opportunities, Constraints and Challenges in the Bolgatanga Municipality

Agro-Processing Almost all government ministries and agencies are hooked up to the internet. The agro-processing industry in the However, in the private sector only few municipality employs mainly women who shops and businesses are on the internet. It is employ traditional methods. These women hoped that with the growth in competition are engaged in the extraction of groundnut costs will be reduced and the small and up- oil, dawadawa processing, and the parboiling coming businesses will patronize the internet and milling of locally grown rice. Agro- and its services. Thus, the opportunity to processing has a potential of improving the intensify and extend internet investments in lot of women in the district since the value the municipality exists. Also, there is a high added to the product is very high. More interventions by government, NGOs, potential in the municipality to use rural bilateral, multi-lateral, and religious radio to provide information to enhance the organizations can lead to a more positive modernization process of the agricultural change in the economic situation of the rural sector. folks. Pito brewing is also a major agro- Water Reservoir Systems processing activity for women in the municipality, and accounts for a very The rapid expansion of the municipality significant proportion of the alcoholic requires additional water supplies for beverage and intake. domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes. Investment opportunities exist in Investments in Human Resource Development rainwater harvesting by homes and schools to cut down on daily water transport, There are several formal education centres strengthening water reservoirs for dry season (both public and private) in the municipality irrigation and livestock watering and and opportunities exist to enhance strengthening private participation through investments in infrastructure improvement water users associations in managing water through private-public partnerships. By dams and reservoirs. In the dry season, water improving the municipality’s human resource rationing for vegetable production, livestock through better educational facilities, watering and domestic use could be infrastructure, institutions, and general enhanced through the judicious use of drip amenities, among others, the municipality systems for agriculture. In this regard, could attract potential investors and create opportunities to invest in drip irrigation more opportunities for employment and systems exist. NGOs are investing in businesses. providing water points to ensure that children could save time accessing water for domestic ICT and Internet Expansion use, to go to school, and use of overhead tanks to ensure vegetable production. Opportunities in ICT to enhance entrepreneurship and employment in the Role of Non-Governmental municipality are enormous. Using ICT for Organizations (NGOs) accelerated economic development, opportunities exist to bridge the digital gap The vision of every local authority is to by increasing human capacity building in provide its people with the best quality of life ICT through training workshops, seminars through accelerated and sustained socio- and courses in collaboration with local and economic development. In an attempt to international institutions in the municipality. increase the developmental status of the

Bolgatanga Municipality 82 Investment Opportunities, Constraints and Challenges in the Bolgatanga Municipality municipality the Municipal Assembly The potential of the municipality to collaborates with a number of NGOs, which contribute to the economic development of are actively involved in the developmental the Upper East Region rests on the processes in the municipality. The Municipal exploitation of the abundant natural Assembly has an NGO desk officer who, resources. Investment opportunities in the working through the Consortium of NGOs in municipality, however, face several the municipality, coordinates the activities of challenges. To promote investments and these NGOs, so as to avoid the problem of sustain these investments, land tenure over concentration of facilities in one sector security combined with improvements in as some NGOs are engaged in similar infrastructure, financial support, markets and activities. The active NGOs in the appropriate technology and enhanced municipality are shown in Box 8.1. security, are germane. The decision to invest

and the choice of investment type depend on Box 8.1: The Active NGOs in the perceived level of risks, security of Bolgatanga Municipality. capital, rate of return to capital and the costs  Catholic Relief services and problems involved in the transfer and  ADRA management of the investment. Investment  Star of Hope International incentive packages need to be developed by  CENSUDI the BMA along with technical support from  Action Aid Ghana other governmental and non-governmental  Rural Aid organizations to facilitate the exploitation  Single Mothers Association and development of the natural resources in  Red Cross Society  Catholic Diocesan Development Office the municipality.  Presbyterian Primary Health Care In addition to incentives to attract  TRAX investments, strengthening institutions to  Technoserve secure the natural resource base to sustain  Rural Help Integrated investments are also important. Securing the  Link Community Development resource base depends on credit provision,  Sight Savers generating appropriate revenues from the  VSO existing use of the resources and  Widows and Orphans Ministries safeguarding the resources.  Trade Aid There are several institutions that provide some credit facilities in the These NGOs and CBOs are mostly into communities, such as the NGOs and poverty alleviation among the rural commu- MASLOC. MASLOC provides micro-credit nities in the municipality. However, some of to groups while small loans are given to both them such as Rural Aid, are into provision of individuals and groups. Credit provision in water; Rural Health Integrated, into the municipality could enhance not only the reproductive health; and Link Community Development which is operating in the investment opportunities; it could foster the educational sector. efficient exploitation and utilization of the natural resource endowments in the Constraints and Challenges to municipality. Investment Opportunities in the Revenue mobilization has increased Municipality over the years in the municipality, but mostly from withholding taxes, fees and fines. The

Bolgatanga Municipality 83 Investment Opportunities, Constraints and Challenges in the Bolgatanga Municipality

IRS is also gradually cutting into the monitoring and effectiveness of extension informal sector. This is because BMA is delivery. expanding its operations and the IRS is The Municipal Assembly and other getting closer to the people by giving them stakeholders should encourage, support and tax education and insisting on the submission help sustain the formation of various Farmer of returns promptly, paying regular visits to Based Organizations (FBOs) preferably withholding tax agents and periodic with- along commodity/agro-business lines. This holding auditing. There are more rooms for will enable members to benefit from various training programmes to upgrade and update improvement if the IRS were to operate at their skills in production, processing and full capacity. There are certain areas that marketing of their produce. Training of potentially the IRS can cover, particularly in FBOs should be targeted to address specific the informal sector, but cannot do so now issues that will enhance women capacity to because of several logistical problems (lack perform their roles in the farm-to-market- of office accommodation, lack of finance, chain-links. lack of vehicles). There are staffing Encouraging the involvement of NGOs problems, compounded by the conflict in the in the municipality to sustain the natural region. resource endowments is imperative. Several The Ghana National Fire Service also NGOs play specific and broad roles in the plays an important role in safeguarding the areas of agriculture, construction and water natural resources in the municipality. Besides and sanitation. Communities are supported rescuing victims in accidents at homes and in with programmes to mitigate emergency fires, they intensively educate the community situations including provision of food aid, about precautions of fires; educate farmers and community driven infrastructure needs on bush fires and their consequences such as schools and markets. Agricultural particularly on the degradation of lands, interventions, including training in more importantly during the harmattan agricultural production and agro-enterprise period, among others. Although the Service management, provision of inputs (seeds, is attractive to the youth, there is apathy on animal breeds, tools, etc.) are undertaken by the part of the community. Because of NGOs. The BMA support given to NGOs in several false calls when there is a fire call, the municipality must further be strengthened numerous interruptions emanate from the to enhance the public-private sector community when fires are to be fought. partnerships. Agricultural Extension Services within MoFA need more support to develop Safety and Security Issues in agriculture beyond subsisting standards and the Municipality to enhance the agricultural sector to be competitive. The capacity of SARI to Due to the numerous conflict areas in the conduct basic research and to effectively entire northern sector of Ghana, one of the disseminate the findings to farmers in the key challenges to the development of the entire northern sector after adapting findings area including the Bolgatanga Municipality, to local soil conditions is imperative. At in recent years, has been the peace/safety and present, some NGOs are involved in security of people and property which are extension delivery and some donors are key requirements for sustainable develop- providing logistical support to MoFA extension services but these may have to be ment. Particularly in the very recent past, better coordinated to ensure proper ethnic and other conflicts in the Bawku area of the Upper East Region have adversely

Bolgatanga Municipality 84 Investment Opportunities, Constraints and Challenges in the Bolgatanga Municipality affected development initiatives both at the Based on the 2003 CWIQ survey local and national levels. Even though the conducted by GSS, insights into the safety Bolgatanga Municipality itself has not and security situation of the municipality at experienced any major conflicts, the spill- that time were obtained. In general, most of over effects from nearby areas such as the population (both urban and rural) had no neighborhood watch systems (over 80%), which is comparable to the situation in other parts of the country (Figure 8.1). Never-theless, they generally felt very safe in their communities (Figure 8.2). More than 90 per cent of the population in the Bolgatanga Municipality indicated they felt very safe,

Figure 8.1: Neighbourhood Watch Systems in the Municipality which was more than both the Compared with Regional and National Systems. regional (73.4%) and national (70.5%) averages. Moreover, a good majority of the population in the municipality expressed confidence in the effectiveness of state protection (Figure 8.3). This implies that there is general peace and safety in the municipality to support investments and developmental activities, which also is important to ensure that both local and Figure 8.2: Percentage of Households that Feel Safe from Violence international NGOs as well as and Crime. development partners have the confidence needed to promote developmental activities.

Figure 8.3: Percentage of Household Confident about State Protection. Source: CWIQ Survey, 2003.

Bawku East and Bawku West districts could be significant.

Bolgatanga Municipality 85 Summary, Conclusion and the Way Forward

CHAPTER 9 Summary, Conclusion and

the Way Forward

Summary and number of private schools also increased marginally at all levels during the period. Conclusion This is reflected in increases in the school enrolment at all levels in the municipality Progress towards meeting the MGDs in from 2005/2006 academic year to 2007/2008 the Municipality academic year. The kindergarten enrolment increased 4.6 per cent between 2005/2006 The Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly has and 2007 and 2008, while the primary and made progress in trying to meet the health, JHS enrolments increased 5 per cent and 2.4 education and water and sanitation compo- per cent respectively for the same period. nents of the MDGs. In education, the These increases reflect the kind of positive Bolgatanga Municipality has witnessed attention that both parents and the improvements in the enrolment of school municipality have given to improve human children in the primary and JHS levels. The resource development in the municipality. sex dimension of enrolment in the municipality shows that the numbers of The figures for the number of teachers female enrolment outnumber that of male at attending to the schools in the municipality the kindergarten and primary levels of also show increases at all levels between education, but this seems to reverse at the 2005/2006 and 2007/2008 academic years, JHS level. Also a high rate of female dropout with untrained teachers constituting a is observed at all the levels of education, substantial proportion of the total at all raising concerns about gender disparity in levels, particularly the kindergarten schools. education in the municipality. The ratio of untrained to trained teachers improved slightly at the kindergarten level The municipality has seen an improve- from 3.4 in 2005/2006 to 2.1 in 2007/2008; ment in both the gross and net enrolment while that for trained teachers to untrained rates at all levels of education. The number teachers declined at both the primary and of public schools at all levels from kinder- JHS levels from 2.2 in 2005/2006 to 1.8 in garten to the Junior High School (JHS) 2007/2008 at the primary level, and from 4.6 increased while private schools either in 2005/2006 to 2.6 in 2007/2008 at the JHS remained the same or slightly increased as level. well. For example, kindergartens increased There has been improvement in the from 60 in 2005/2006 to 66 in 2008 while health sector with indications of improve- primary schools increased from 59 to 65 and ment towards achieving the MDG 4, 5 and 6. junior high schools from 33 to 40. The Access to medical facilities is relatively high

Bolgatanga Municipality 86 Summary, Conclusion and the Way Forward in the municipality. The attendance of population. On the other hand, most of the pregnant women at pre-natal clinics is rural population in the municipality obtain relatively high compared with post-natal water from boreholes (about 72%), implying attendance. Hence the performance of the that tap water and boreholes are the main municipality in sustaining a decline in the sources of safe water in the municipality. area of maternal mortality needs attention for Also, it takes less than 15 minutes for both the realization of that MDG. Most of the urban and rural dwellers in the municipality population in the urban areas of the to reach water sources, indicating that municipality visit either a public hospital/ accessibility to water is generally easy in the clinic (48.2%) or private hospital/clinic municipality. However, progress must be (45.8%) when sick, compared to those in the speeded up to sustain the rising trends in the rural areas (27.7% and 27.5% visit public provision of safe drinking water. Overall the hospital/clinic and private hospital/clinic percentage of the population enjoying safe respectively). As expected, more of those drinking water increased from 64 per cent in living in the rural areas use community 2005 to 73 per cent in 2007. health centres (23.1%) and pharmacies/ Some improvements were also observed chemical shops (13.1%) than those living in in the municipality in terms of sanitation. the urban areas. Incidentally, fewer people The percentage of the population in the and almost equal proportions of both urban municipality using safe excreta disposal and rural dwellers use the services of facility increased from 33 per cent in 2005 to traditional healers when sick. The Bolga- 45 per cent in 2007; and those using KVIL tanga Municipality health system has empha- facilities increased from 11 per cent to 17 per sized preventive healthcare, and encouraged cent during the same period. More, however, both urban and rural dwellers to use various need to be done to effectively check the methods particularly for malaria prevention. indiscriminate disposal of garbage by The use of treated bednets, regular weeding sections of the population in the munici- of compound and use of mosquito coil are pality, particularly in the rural areas. among the key strategies households in the municipality adopt against malaria. The Bolgatanga township, however, is faced with daunting challenges in the Malaria is among the most reported management of both solid and liquid wastes. diseases in the municipality and the high In solid waste, there are huge gaps in the incidence is a threat to improving the life amount of refuse that could be collected per expectancy of the population. Increased day and the refuse generated. This results in awareness creation and the adoption of rampant littering of streets and drains, posing malaria-preventive strategies such as insec- health and other hazards. Therefore the water ticide treated bednets for children, clearing of and sanitation plans of the municipality to weeds and maintaining sanitation around increase access to water and sanitation must houses are important. be pursued vigorously to meet targets of the In terms of the main sources of drinking Millennium Development Goal. In addition, water in the municipality, results from the the efforts of the municipality in the area of DAEA Household Survey, 2008 indicate that environmental sustainability can be stepped a majority of urban dwellers get their water up by high level of community participation from pipe-borne water sources (either in community work to reverse the degra- individual or public stand water taps). This dation and the need to recover degraded represents about 79 per cent of the urban lands, protect those under threat, and enhance

Bolgatanga Municipality 87 Summary, Conclusion and the Way Forward their ecological dysfunction that has arisen terms of food insecurity, it is relatively more through human interference in the form of difficult to satisfy food needs in the urban periodic bushfires in many localities and municipal compared to the rural municipal unsustainable land management practices. and more pronounced among men not to satisfy household food needs than women. The unemployment rate among the youth has been on the increase in the A major challenge to achieving the municipality and by gender unemployment health, education, water and sanitation rates have been higher among men than targets of the MDGs in the municipality is women. In general, there is a disparity in the relatively high level of illiteracy and rural-urban unemployment, and under- poverty as well as limited access to safe employment is high. Unemployment and drinking water and poor sanitation, which underemployment seem to be serious issues have combined to expose many people to in the Bolgatanga Municipality. For example, health hazards and accounts for the relative it was observed that over 68 per cent of the low standard of living of the people. It is respondents during the period of the DAEA therefore very important to intensify educa- Household Survey in 2008 did not do any tion, water and sanitation and health preven- type of work that brought in income either tive strategies, particularly malaria preven- cash or in kind. Only about 31 per cent of the tion strategies, to make all households aware respondents indicated that they were of the need to adopt some measures to gainfully employed. Similarly, only 13.5 per prevent the illness and minimize the cent were either looking for work or ready incidence of malaria-related deaths through for work, while 83.5 per cent said no to proper sanitation control. looking for work or being ready for work. The Way Forward: Utilization of Perception of poverty based on the Natural Resources to Meet value judgment of respondents in the 2003 MDGs in the Municipality CWIQ Survey, indicates that most households considered themselves poor There are critical areas of concern, (57.0%), and this is higher compared to those challenges and opportunities that need who considered themselves poor in both the serious policy considerations in order to Upper East Region (54.2%) and Ghana enable the municipality to utilize sustainably (37.1%) as a whole. Using the level of and efficiently the natural resources it is happiness of households to capture their endowed with to improve human develop- perception of poverty (Table 3.5) reveals that ment as well as put the municipality on track although about 68.9 per cent of households in to meet the MDGs. The outcomes of the 2003 considered themselves to be either poor economic situation of the communities in the or very poor, poverty did not adversely affect household and the progress made so far the happiness of most of the population since towards the MDGs suggest that the over 54.2 per cent claimed to be very happy municipality has not fully exploited the or quite happy. numerous resource endowments at its disposal to generate more employment to The impact of economic activity on enhance the literacy and reduce poverty as poverty indicators shows that overall, the well as increase access to safe drinking water municipality performs better relative to the and improve sanitation. The natural resource national situation in terms of adult literacy endowments exploitation for livelihood (knowledge) and access to safe water. In

Bolgatanga Municipality 88 Summary, Conclusion and the Way Forward emanates from the interaction of the quality participation of individuals in accessing of the human resource skills, agriculture and governance in the municipality needs to be related activities and a need to efficiently enhanced for broader community enhance investment opportunities to provide participation. Most communities indicated employment to the youth. that they interact more with their local assembly member than with the MP or MCE, The potential of the municipality to which is expected as the assembly member contribute to its economic development rests resides with the local community. on the exploitation of the abundant natural Communities therefore relay their problems resources. Access to and the use of the and grievances through their assembly resource endowments by households is members to the Municipal Assembly. Their complementary to the other forms of capital participation in community development and is particularly an important mechanism programmes is therefore through their for escaping poverty through strengthening assembly member. The municipality needs to the capabilities of the household. The strengthen the assembly member-community institution-resource access relationship that linkage to enhance effective community highlights resource endowments of the participation in governance.

Table 9.1: Summary of MDGs and the Situation in the Bolgatanga Municipality Millennium Targets Situation in The Bolgatanga Development Goal Municipality Goal 1: Eradicate Target 1: Halve between 1990 and 2015, the Unemployment high among the extreme proportion of people whose income population. About 68 percent do poverty and is less than one dollar a day no type of work hunger Target 2: Halve between 1990-2015, the As at 2008, about two-thirds of proportion of people who suffer from residents suffer food shortages hunger during the year Goal 2: Achieve Target 3: Ensure that by 2015, children Slow growth in gross and net universal everywhere, boys and girls alike, will enrolment rates. Increases in primary be able to complete a full course of numbers and relative quality of education primary education education. Relatively high school absentee rates in the municipality Goal 3: Promote Target 4: Eliminate gender disparity in primary Gender gaps in terms of gender and secondary education, preferably enrolment from one educational equality and by 2005, and in all levels of education level to the other in the empower no later than 2015 Municipality relatively absent. women Progress made in this direction Goal 4: Reduce child Target 5: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 Progress made in reduction of mortality and 2015, the under-five mortality rate malnutrition, stunting, wasting and children underweight since 2005 Goal 5: Improve Target 6: Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 maternal and 2015 the maternal mortality ratio health Goal 6: Combat Target 7: Have halted by 2015, and begun to Malaria cases still the highest in HIV/AIDS, reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS the municipality. More progress malaria and Target 8: Have halted by 2015 and begun to required as various strategies are other diseases reverse the incidence of malaria and being applied other major diseases

Bolgatanga Municipality 89 Summary, Conclusion and the Way Forward

Goal 7: Ensure Target 9: Integrate the principles of sustainable Municipal Assembly has plans to environmental development into country policies and develop programmes to tackle sustainability programmes and reverse the loss of and reverse environmental environmental resources degradation Target 10: Halve by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation Target 11: By 2020, to have achieved a significant Increases in the population in the improvement in the lives of at least Municipality that have access to 100 million slum dwellers good drinking water, 2005-2007. There are challenges in the provision of solid and liquid waste facilities Goal 8: Develop a Target 16: In cooperation with developing Several NGOs engaged in Global Part- countries, develop and implement developing and implementing nership for strategies for decent work and strategies for decent/productive Development productive work for youth work in collaboration with the Municipality Target 17: In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries Target 18: In cooperation with private sector, Several NGOs also engaged in make available the benefits of new promoting affordable technologies, especially information technologies in energy-saving and communications techniques and ICT in the Municipality

Human resource development and Investment incentive packages need to be utilization concerning education, training, developed by the BMA, along with technical employment opportunities and the building support from other governmental and non- of incentives for useful and productive governmental organizations to facilitate the activities are important in harnessing the exploitation of natural resource endowments resource endowments. The municipality has in the municipality to generate income to to continue to focus on improving not only reduce poverty and help make progress on the quantity of educational facilities but also the MDGs in the municipality. pay particular attention to the skill-training institutes and the quality of the educational In addition to incentives to attract sector. This will require cooperation between investments, strengthening institutions to the BMA and other stakeholders (including secure the natural resource base to sustain development partners and NGOs) in ensuring investments are also important. Securing the that the human resource development agenda resource base depends on credit provision, is prioritized. generating appropriate revenues from the existing use of the resources and safe- Investment opportunities in the guarding the resources. There are several municipality face several challenges. To institutions providing credit facilities in the promote investments and sustain these municipality that could enhance not only the investments, land tenure security combined investment opportunities, but also foster the with improvements in infrastructure, financial support, markets and appropriate efficient exploitation and utilization of the technology and enhanced security, are vital.

Bolgatanga Municipality 90 Summary, Conclusion and the Way Forward natural resource endowments in the municipality.

Revenue mobilization is critical in the municipality, and the IRS must expand its operations and get closer to the people by giving them tax education and helping to ease the several logistical problems it faces.

The Ghana National Fire Service and the Agricultural Extension Services need support in safeguarding the natural resources in the municipality, and develop agriculture beyond subsisting standards and enhance the agricultural sector to be competitive, respectively. Halving the number of people whose income is less than one dollar and the proportion who suffer from hunger in the municipality will greatly depend on agricultural resource exploitation and protection.

The municipality and other stakeholders should encourage, support and help sustain the formation of various Farmer Based Organizations (FBOs) preferably along commodity/agro-business lines. Training of FBOs should be targeted to address specific issues that will enhance women capacity to perform their roles in the farm-to-market- chain-links. Encouraging the involvement of NGOs in the municipality to sustain the natural resource endowments is imperative.

Bolgatanga Municipality 91 Bolgatanga District Assembly Human Development Report 2011

References

Bauman, P. (2002), Improving Access to Maxwell, D. and K. Wiebe (1998), “Land Natural Resources for the Rural Poor: A Tenure and Food Security Exploring Critical Analysis of Central Concepts Dynamic Linkages”, Development and and Emerging Trends from a Sustain- Change 30, pp. 825–845. able Livelihoods Perspective, Food and Agricultural Organization of the U.N., Republic of Ghana (2005), The 2006–2009 Livelihood Support Programme, LSP Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Working Paper 1, July 2002. (GPRS II), Accra: Government Printer. Sen, Amartya (2000), Social exclusion: Crowley, E. and K. Appendini (2006), “Rural concept, application, and scrutiny. Poverty, Population Dynamics, Local Social Development Papers No. 1, Institutions and Access to Resources”, Office of Environment and Social Social Dimensions Special: Population Development, Asian Development Poverty and Environment, Rome: FAO. Bank Manila, Philippines.

de Janvry, A., G. Gordillo, J.P. Platteau, and UNDP (2008), Human Development Report E. Sadoulet (2001), Access to Land, — Going Beyond Income. Rural Poverty and Public Action. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001 UNDP (2004), Human Development Report 2004, New York. Ghana Statistical Service (2010), Population and Housing Census 2000, Accra: UNESCAP (2009), What is Good Government of Ghana. Governance, New York.

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